


Leveled

by DuskEverlasting



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 18:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 44,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19481494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuskEverlasting/pseuds/DuskEverlasting
Summary: Leonardo is used to being ignored, feared, hated, but as the son of Oroku Saki, there isn't much he can do. Three brothers from New York however, could change his life. If only he would let them. Human AU.(Uploaded to AO3 from my old Fanfiction account.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first completed piece of fanfiction I wrote back when I was 14. It's terrible, but I remember being proud of what I'd written. After some thought, I decided to post it here for fun more than anything. Maybe some people will enjoy it, maybe not, but here it is anyway.

I could still remember the days when my father actually cared about me. He laughed with me, smiled at me, and was with me whenever he could. But at the same time, he had sort of a distant look in his eyes. As if he was only doing things with me for a reason.

But I was so young at the time that I wouldn't give it a second thought. I would just brush it off and smile back at him. I was so naïve.

Now I understand what my father is. He is a murderer. One who enjoys seeing pain; one who feels the need to. And I am like him. I don't want to be, I try not to be.

I try to be respectful to everyone I meet and help those who need it. However, with my father starting to act colder and rash to me I couldn't help it. I spread those same hateful feelings that he showed me to others. It's no wonder I have no friends. After all, being friends with someone who has a dad that practically terrorizes any stranger, heck even family, is not enjoyable in the least. So I got used to it.

My father was cold to me, I was cold to others, and they were cold back to me. It was an endless cycle that would never stop, and had been going on since I was seven. Now I'm fifteen.

The only times my father would ever actually spend time with now is when he forces me to train. Or worse. But he expects me to continue in his footsteps as the next to lead the Foot Clan and control his business. I don't want to, but I don't really have a choice.

My name is Leonardo. I am the son of the world-renowned Oroku Saki. He is feared by many, and so I am as well. After all, the only difference between us is his golden-brown eyes, and my cobalt blue ones. Other than that, we seem to be exactly the same with are hard expressions. I think he was born with his, but mine just happened to grow like how my hatred burns for him now.

As the founder and head person, honestly I couldn't care less what his position is exactly called; he has to travel a lot. Of course as his only son, I have to follow along everywhere.

I was born in Japan to him and an Asian-American named Teng Shin. I remember when I was still young and he would tell me about her. She had died from giving birth to me. That might be the reason, or at least one of them, of why he hates me.

For the first four years of my life, I grew up in Japan. I had started my training around that time too. It was brutal, but my father insisted it was important so I could protect my Clan. So I went along with it. I thought of the Clan as my family, even though they didn't care about me. I did say I was naïve didn't I?

After Japan, we moved to Norway so my father could establish a business contract of some sort. I know now it was signed because he practically threatened the company to do it or else. I would have signed the contract too.

Less than a month later we moved to Germany, then France, Spain, and finally the U.S. That was three years.

We still live in the U.S. today. I like it better here too. My father isn't around as much. Isn't wonderful to hear how much a child enjoys being alone? Especially the son of a monster; one who hurts his own child though I am a teenager now.

The first time he ever physically hurt me out of training was at age nine. I was being disobedient since I had just made some friends when my father announced we were moving. I yelled at him and said some pretty bad things, and his anger got the better of him. He slapped me hard on the cheek, leaving a red mark. I should have shut up, but again I was way too naïve for my own good.

I still have the faint scar on the left side of my face that runs from under my temple to my mid-cheek close to the eye. I can still feel the blinding pain from the sharp knife and my screams of agonizing pain. But the thing that hurts the most is that he seemed _pleased_ by what he did. His words gripped my heart and made my blood run cold.

_If you thought that was painful, you are wrong. The world is full of pain and suffering. You must endure it, and be the one that gives it to others. Then you will be strong. More pain worse than that will surely come soon to you._

After that incident, I never talked back to him again. Now I just speak to him with forced respect, because even the thought of trying to be honorable with the man makes me sick.

So that is how my life is. I listen and do as my father says so that I can get out of the worst from his painful torments. Never do I question or try to go against him in fear of how he may punish me. There is still the branding.

Because of my father, I am now a cold teen with a hard outer shell that I won't let anyone tear down. I will be weak then. And I cannot afford to be weak.

Every school I go to is the same. Do homework, go home, and make no connections with anyone. It'll only be trouble if I do, and besides, everyone tries to avoid me. I am too much like my father. And I will not go against my father, ever. It terrifies me that I may become exactly like him.

But for now, I am trapped. Once again we are moving, to New York City this time. Hopefully it'll be different, but that's like asking a starving lion to leave its fresh prey alone. So I'm not expecting anything than what I'm used to. Of course three brothers could change that.


	2. Dreads and Misfortunes

The faint ticking of a wall clock awakened an incredibly tired Leonardo. He grumbled as he pushed himself up and yawned. His eyes wandered around his dark room before settling on the clock hanging along the wall. Squinting his eyes to see it better, he read 5:46.

 _Time to get up._ The teen thought.

Slowly Leonardo got out of bed and stretched to tell his body to wake up. He lazily picked out some clothes before heading to the bathroom to shower and dress.

After a refreshing and awakening rinse, Leonardo sauntered down the steps to the kitchen. He calmly grabbed his regular cereal and poured some milk onto it. As he started eating, an all too familiar gruff voice sounded from the front door.

 _Must be another phone call._ Leonardo thought to himself as he started to eat. _It's a wonder he even answers it at all._

"Leonardo. We must speak." The snarl broke through the teen's thoughts. He looked up at his menacing father, who had suddenly appeared before him, but hey. He was a ninja. "It is a matter of business."

 _Of course it is. You would never talk to me about going to Disneyland._ Leonardo growled to himself.

But of course disrespecting his father wasn't something Leonardo liked to do often so he instead answered politely. "Yes father?"

Oroku Saki narrowed his golden eyes as if trying to see if his son was being polite or sarcastic. "Because of problems my impudent employees couldn't handle, and it will give me a better chance at enlarging the business, we are moving to New York."

Leonardo almost spit out his mouth full of cereal and milk. _New York?_ Why New York of all places? It was practically across the country, and surely there were no mansions in the city. If it was the city, but guessing since his father constantly moved to large cities, it probably was.

"New York City? Isn't that a bit sudden?" Leonardo asked, trying to keep his temper in check. He did that a lot. It was said bottling anger was wrong, but if he let it out, trouble would definitely come. So he kept his emotions unreadable.

Saki frowned. "Actually, I had been planning to move to New York for awhile now, but this made us have to leave sooner."

Leonardo grit his teeth. _Of course I wasn't consulted about moving. No, don't bother asking me about moving to one of the largest cities across the country when school has already started. I honestly wouldn't care._ He thought bitterly, trying not to glare at his father.

Instead of saying what he wanted to say, he simply asked. "And when had you wanted to move to New York?" It took lots of self-control to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"I've been thinking about it for a few months now, and I planned on us moving in about three. Fortunately, this will help greatly for me to improve the Oroku Industries. You should be grateful to me for making your future better than any others. You will rule over the company one day, and this move will help us."

Suppressing a sigh, Leonardo questioned. "So, when are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Flying alone with your dad in his private Jet to New York City probably sounds like the coolest thing ever to any young boy. But when your dad has been the only reason you have no friends, it's hell.

Leonardo tried to ignore the growls and snarls of his father talking on his phone to some client of worker or whatever, but his headphones and calming music just couldn't block the noise. His eyebrows furrowed and he glanced out the window. Swiftly he turned back to facing the seat in front of him as a familiar dread spread through him. Heights were definitely Leonardo's weakness. It reminded him of a night long ago…

* * *

A young eight-year-old Leonardo cowered behind his father. His sobs rushed through the pounding rain.

"Dad please! I-It's too scary out here!" He cried. Oroku Saki wouldn't have any of it. A snarl rested on his face.

"You will stay out here until your stupid fear of storms is gone! I don't care if you're scared, you will destroy this weakness!" The man snapped at his son. And with that, he quickly left the roof by leaping off it of it, it seemed, of his three story mansion, leaving his crying son to sleep on the roof during a storm.

Leonardo's howls rang through the air until they were silenced by a loud bang of thunder, making the boy yelp in fear. His cries faded into whimpers as the storm carried on. Only the flashes of lightning allowed him to see through the pitch black.

Slowly he began to crawl across the roof to where he saw his father drop. As Leonardo peered over the edge, lightning suddenly struck a nearby tree. The deafening sound made him shoot into the air, and he slipped off the edge faster than he could shout out in terror.

Leonardo screamed before he managed to grip the gutter. He let out a cry at the sudden pull from quickly grabbing something and the rest of his body pulling him down. Slowly, he turned his head to look at the ground. Instantly, his stomach crawled up to his throat and he squeezed his eyes shut. If he let go, he would die.

Leonardo stayed that way throughout the night, until early morning before dawn, his father pulled him up. From that day forward, he was never afraid of storms again. However, he gained another fear. One that had a better chance of taking his life.

* * *

Leonardo brooded in his seat from not being able to move and forced to listen to his father grumble and occasionally shout to people on the phone. The long trip also gave him plenty of time to figure out dozens of ways something could go wrong, and everyone on the plane would plummet to their deaths. It was probably the most pleasant thing any child could ask for.

The sound of the pilot announcing to his two passengers that it was time to put their seatbelts on to land, sounded like angels singing to Leonardo. He quickly obeyed and heaved a large sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his father also obey. Oroku Saki though, was still on a phone and grumbling to someone now.

Leonardo rolled his eyes, and risked another glance out the window to see a large city with towering skyscrapers in the distance. A groan escaped him.

_Hello New York City._


	3. Woes of School

A loud beeping sound instantly awoke Leonardo. He snarled and used his fist to pound the mechanical device, meaning to turn it off but instead, the machine broke at the teen's rage. A groan escaped his lips as he realized how much he was beginning to remind himself of his father.

_First I'm smashing alarm clocks, and next I'll be pounding a desk in an office._

The thought made him shiver. Leonardo grumbled as he pushed himself up to sit on his twin-sized dark blue bed. Today was the first day of another new school. And so far, New York City wasn't looking to promising. The streets were constantly packed with people and cars. Annoying honks and yells littered the air if one were to stand outside for even a few seconds. The sky could hardly be seen because of all the ridiculously large buildings. Fortunately, the new mansion was located outside the city, so the noises were usually pretty faint, and people could generally feel the power of Oroku Saki nearby so they avoided the street if possible.

The black-haired teen picked out a pair of new jeans, dark blue shirt, and a black jacket before walking towards the bathroom. It was important for him to dress nicely and in a menacing way, at least that's what his father said. Just glaring at people with his dark blue eyes usually spooked them. Anyone could recognize the look that Oroku Saki frequently gave on the news and in conferences. It was a gift.

After a warm shower and getting dressed, Leonardo slowly dragged his feet on the ground, dreading starting school for a thousandth time.

_At least I don't have to train in the morning._ He muttered to himself. He only had brutal trainings in the evenings, which generally lasted for at least four hours. On his father's good nights, he would tell Leonardo that he could train only four instead of longer. So training was always five hours, though Saki insisted it was only four. Leonardo tried to tell himself that brutal training would help make him a better ninja, but he always dreaded spending time with this sensei/father.

Gradually, gathering all he needed for school, Leonardo trudged out the door, not pleased with the idea of going to school. Of course the forecast was dreary and cloudy. _Just like my mood._ He thought bitterly.

A dark limousine that had been driven by the same stern-faced old man that worked for Oroku Saki for years, was waiting to take Leonardo to school. The Saki Industries logo was embedded on both sides of the vehicle as if trying to challenge any cars to dare cut it off. Let's just say, it never happened.

_One day, I'll have my own car. And Mr. Grumpy Von Doom won't have to drive me._ The thought lightened Leonardo's mood, but just a bit. _Only a few months._

As he stepped into the back, the driver, whatever his real name was, gave him a glare through the rearview mirror. Leonardo tried to ignore the look, knowing it was useless to try and beat Mr. Doom in a staring contest. Doom turned back to the front to watch his driving with a sneer.

The drive lasted a good fifteen minutes of quiet. An almost tense air had settled in the air, but since his chauffeur practically loathed him to the core, it was incredibly light.

_Must be thinking about me getting a driver's license._ Leonardo thought bitterly to himself with a small chuckle.

The sound of a car door opening caught the attention of several high school kids who had been chatting pleasantly outside. Instantly silence spread on the campus as a very familiar, if somewhat shorter, person stepped out of the limousine. Leonardo looked at the crowd, faintly hoping for no one to notice him, but of course being the son of the founder of Saki Industries, everyone glanced over at the teen.

It felt like yesterday when he started kindergarten and received the same looks, but back then he hadn't known his father like he did now.

* * *

Little, cheerful Leonardo popped out of the sleek limo with his dark blue eyes shining. He squealed seeing all the children his age that he could befriend. It would be wonderful for him to finally have a friend. As he impatiently waited for his father to step out, he caught the eye of a couple of boys his age. He smiled at them and waved. They smiled back and were about to wave when the blood drained from their faces, and their eyes filled with terror at the sinister figure behind the new boy. Both boys recognized the man from television and flinched from the look he was giving them.

Oroku Saki glared at all the children and parents in front of the school, except his own son. He watched in satisfaction as the two boys who had seen him scurried away like mice trying to escape a large cat, preferably the Cheshire Cat.

However, Leonardo's reaction was the opposite. As soon as the two boys rushed off, the bright twinkle in his eyes dimmed. He nearly began to cry as his two would be friends ran away. Before he could ask his dad why they had gone, Saki grabbed his son's small hand in his iron grip.

"Come now. We must get you in school quickly so I can get to work." He ordered in his deep voice. Leonardo nodded his head at his dad and tried to get his little feet to keep up with Saki's long strides.

Soon the two had entered the kindergarten classroom, after passing many more people who Saki glared at and Leonardo tried to befriend. Much to Leonardo's extreme delight, he noticed all the bright colors and kids his age. Many thoughts popped into his head at once. _Will we have training here too? Do we get to play at all? Ooh! Ooh! What if we finally get to learn how to use swords!_

As Leonardo was preoccupied in his own little happy thoughts, Oroku Saki glared daggers at everyone in the room. Children cowered away from the man's deathly look while their parents and the teacher instantly recognized the man. Saki was known for his business as well as his reputation. He was known to do horrible things when something wouldn't go his way, and no one was able to file a lawsuit that his well-paid lawyer couldn't handle. If a demon or even the devil himself had been reincarnated, then it was Saki.

And poor Leonardo had no idea what his dad had done, what he could do. All the child had wanted was to fit in and finally have the chance of having friends. Alas, it wasn't to be. After Saki left, the other children avoided Leonardo, wondering what was wrong with him. Leonardo wondered about that too.

He cried alone that night.

* * *

The memory made Leonardo incredibly annoyed, saddened, but mostly angry. He gave death glares to anyone that looked his way as he stomped towards the entrance to school. Even if Oroku Saki wasn't there, anyone that looked into his son's face wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

In the office, Leonardo walked up to the desk to talk to whomever to enroll and get his schedule. An elderly woman was happily typing away on her computer as the teen stopped by her. She made no movements suggesting she had noticed him, and so he growled at her. Her eyes shot up to give him a glance that said. _Did you really just do that to me?_

But her reaction was the complete opposite. Her eyes widened at him and she gasped at Leonardo. Someone had told her something about Oroku Saki, but she hadn't believed his son would be attending the school. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Leonardo's temper flared and he glared at her with contempt. "I'm here to sign in and get my schedule." He growled at her. She quickly nodded her head and shakily handed him a few sheets. He snatched them away from her and was about to leave, but before he left he said. "Thank you." Still with a snarl on his face he marched out.

As he was walking towards his first class after leaving the office, a place that he decided was not a picnic in the park, he accidentally bumped into someone. Their books and notebooks dropped to the ground and Leonardo turned on the person.

"Watch it." He snapped irritably. The other boy, who Leonardo noticed had brown hair, brown eyes and purple glasses, quickly looked up at him. The boy, who had fallen along with his supplies, didn't seem afraid of him, but rather curious; Leonardo brushed it off. Not bothering to help him, Leonardo trudged off, giving the boy one last scowl.

As he left, the boy on the ground quickly tried to gather his things. Two other boys soon joined him, as if they had melted from the crowd of students now entering the building. One was a short blonde with bright blue eyes, while the other was a little taller than the blonde and had dark brown hair with green eyes. As soon as all the boys had stood up, they looked to where Leonardo had gone.

"Is that the son of Oroku Saki, the Shredder?" The dark brown-haired boy asked with a look of anger on his face.

The taller boy with glasses nodded, a curious glint in his eyes. "Yep." He responded. "That's our guy."

The three exchanged glances before heading out to their classes, each wondering how this new 'threat' would be. It wouldn't be long before they found out.


	4. Acquainted

_Ring!_

Leonardo practically growled at the ceiling to where a bell was in the hallway to signal that class had started. _If only I could smash that too._ He took a deep breath and walked into his first class. The instant he did, a mid-aged teacher with a far too large moustache, looked up at him from his desk. The sight was something like a younger Santa in a school, but without the beard. Mildly disturbing to any young child's eyes.

"Oh good, you made it." He said in a far too high-pitched voice for the large man. Leonardo glanced around the room, surveying his new classmates. A blonde boy caught his attention in the back with his large, blue eyes. He looked way too young to be in high school.

The teacher, whose name was… Mr. _Pudgins_ as the board said noticed the newer teen look at his surroundings with a glare on his face. "Now, now young boy! No disrespect in this school you hear?"

Leonardo immediately turned on the man, his eyes burning. "No. _You_ hear. I'm not interested in even being here, so leave me alone and you _might_ be able to keep your job _._ " He snapped, using every ounce of what his father said to make a grown man feel fear. Mr. Pudgins' eyes widened and he shook his head.

"I didn't mean to be rude, er, Mr. Oroku. Please take a seat wherever you'd like!" He hastily said. The class watched in interest at this new student who had so openly challenged and frightened a teacher. The name of their new classmate sent shivers down their spines. Oroku Saki was known everywhere it seemed, just as the man wanted.

Leonardo gave his new teacher a final deathly look before trudging to the back of the classroom and plopping down into an empty desk. All the way he could feel eyes trained on his back and when he turned, he noticed it was the small blonde boy. Leonardo tried to give him a look that said _I'll kill you unless you turn around,_ but the boy did something completely opposite. He smiled at Leonardo and gave him a small wave.

Leonardo's eyes widened a bit but had no idea what to do, so instead turned to face the front of the class, trying to ignore the pestering questions of why the boy had been friendly with him. _Why would he try to be friendly to me if he knows I'm the son of Oroku Saki? Who would want to be welcoming to someone like me? Who is that kid?_

"Michelangelo, please pay attention!" Mr. Pudgins voice sounded from the front. All eyes turned to the blonde boy and he gave them a sheepish grin. Leonardo frowned. So his name was Michelangelo? A strange name, but the boy himself seemed pretty strange so it fit.

The rest of class was a blur for Leonardo who listened, but didn't ask any questions. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he liked school. It was a chance for him to get out of the house, but it was also where people were. And people were judgmental. It was something Leonardo had learned at a young age.

A seven-year-old Leonardo sat alone at lunch, but that wasn't new. He was used to being alone, at home and at school. For some reason, no kids wanted to talk or play with him. Leonardo sighed before almost falling out of his seat when someone poked him lightly on the shoulder. He whirled around to see a newer boy with sandy brown hair shyly look at him.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked quietly. Leonardo's face erupted into a smile the size of the sun. His eyes brightened at the prospect of someone finally wanting to befriend him.

"No. Go ahead!" He chirped happily. The new boy smiled back and sat down. Leonardo put his hand up for a handshake. "My name is Leonardo." He said.

The other boy shook Leonardo's hand. "My name is Dustin." He responded. After that, the two quickly became friends. But that wouldn't last.

One day after a few days of knowing each other, Dustin overheard a few kids talking in his class. "I can't believe that new Dustin kid is friends with Leonardo. Who would want to be friends with _him_?

Another boy nodded in agreement. "I know! That Leonardo's dad is Oroku Saki! The first day he practically tried to kill me with a look! And sometimes Leonardo does too!"

A girl with the boys spoke up as well. "That Leonardo is the kid of a monster. He must be one too. That Dustin is pretty stupid to be hanging out with him."

The three kids continued talking. Dustin frowned. He hadn't known Leonardo was the son of Oroku Saki, seeing as he was newer than his black-haired friend. His own father worked for Saki, and was always saying how much he hated the founder. Dustin shook his head. But Leonardo was his friend! And he was nice.

But later that day after school, Dustin learned that his father had been fired. Now he had no job. Dustin was angry, and the next day at school, he confronted Leonardo, wanting to know why his dad had been fired when he always worked hard.

Leonardo saw him walking up to him as he was sitting on a swing. A smile crept onto his face. "Oh hey Dustin!" He chirped happily. Dustin stared appalled at him. How could Leonardo be so happy when his father had fired his own dad!

He glared at Leonardo. "You're no friend of mine. I couldn't be friends with someone as heartless as you." He snarled before walking away to join the kids that he had overheard talking about Leonardo.

Leonardo sadly and confused watched his one and only friend abandon him. He wanted to cry out at his friend, but his feeling of misery was quickly replaced by anger and he ran off.

That night at home, we wept at the loss of his first and only friend, out of anger and misery. A dark thought bloomed in his mind as he promised himself he would never have another friend ever again. They would only hurt him.

The bell rung to signal the end of first period, awakening Leonardo from the memory with a scowl. He gathered his supplies and strolled out of the classroom. Instantly he noticed someone was walking by him. He turned to see the blonde boy again. Up close he could see that Michelangelo had freckles on the bridge of his nose that made him look even younger.

"Hi!" Michelangelo chirped, a blinding smile on his face. "My name is Michelangelo, but you can just call me Mikey!"

Leonardo raised an eyebrow at the other teen, who seemed way too cheerful for his own good. "Um, hi?" He asked.

Mikey continued to smile up at him, which began to make Leonardo feel uncomfortable. "Can I help you?" He asked the smaller boy.

Mikey giggled. "Well you could tell me your name!" He said, once again in that way too cheerful voice that Leonardo wasn't used to.

"Err… My name is Leonardo." He managed to get out. For some strange reason, probably because of the bizarre boy, Leonardo didn't feel angry like he usually did. Instead he felt confused at the friendliness shown towards him. No one was ever this friendly towards him.

"Leonardo? Hmmm…." Mikey asked, rolling the name around in his mind to get used to it. "That's cool! But I think you should go by Leo! It sounds _way_ better!"

At once, Leonardo's anger flared, and he turned on the Mikey, surprising him."I don't care what you think. Just leave me alone!" And with that, he left the blonde boy. Mikey just watched him go with a saddened look. He sighed and wished that he hadn't said anything at all.

"Hopefully Donnie and Raph will have better luck than me." Mikey murmured to himself before continuing his trek towards his second class.

Donnie hummed to himself as he started placing his supplies exactly where he wanted them to get ready for class. Earlier he had found out that Leonardo was in his second class, and he was still curious about the son of Saki.

"It'd be nice if he apologized for bumping into me." He muttered to himself. Just then Leonardo entered the classroom, still with his usual scowl on his face. _Hello sunshine._ Donnie thought to himself.

Leonardo was still annoyed at Mikey and couldn't help but show it. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized the boy that had run into him sitting by the only unoccupied desk. _Oh great._ He grumbled to himself.

As Leonardo sat down at the only available and inconvenient desk, the brown haired boy greeted him. "Hi." He said rather pleasantly. "I'm Donatello, but you can call me Don or Donnie for short. Sorry for bumping into you earlier."

Leonardo's mood once again jumbled together. _Donatello? Another weird name. But why is this guy being nice to me too? Doesn't he know who my father is?_

"Um, hi." Leonardo said, trying not to grumble at Don. "I'm Leonardo." _But you're not forgiven; you're probably just trying to trick me._

Don gave him a small smile. "Yeah I know who you are. You're the son of Oroku Saki, right? It's hard not to hear about a super famous businessman's son going to your school."

Leonardo bit his lip. "Yeah, that's me." He sighed before turning his attention to a window. _It's raining._ He noticed with an inner smile. Rain was something he liked.

Don observed Leonardo for a bit before the voice of their science teacher interrupted his thoughts. _Ooh! DNA!_ He thought with a smile, forgetting about the raven-haired boy he was supposed to get to know better.

Leonardo instantly sped out of the room as soon as the bell to end class rung. _Get away from Don before he makes me mad too._ He thought to himself. _And here comes hell._

Lunchtime had never been Leonardo's favorite part of the school day like most kids. It was a time to take a break from studying and talk to your friends. That was exactly why he hated it. Sitting by yourself is not a fun thing, especially when everyone else has at least one person to socialize with.

After grumbling a few not very nice things under his breath, Leonardo picked up some lunch and looked around the cafeteria. His frown deepened at all of the laughs and lacks of empty tables. After searching for a while longer, he spotted a lonely round table in a corner near a window. He almost purred in delight, almost.

Leonardo set his tray down and settled into his seat, not bothering to survey the area, preferring to watch his food. No one would pay him too much attention that way. Unless of course a certain cheerful blonde notices you sitting all by yourself and decides he should sit by you.

Mikey happily made his way to the lonely new teen and practically dropped his tray onto the table, making Leonardo jump and swivel his head up to see who it was. His heart dropped a bit before he sighed.

Mikey, not noticing the other teen's discontent, smiled. "Hi Leo!"

Leonardo growled at him. "It's Leonardo." He hoped Mikey would get it through his head that he did not want a pet name, but a real name. The name Leo might just be some kind of trick.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Leo sounds better. Now why are you sitting all by yourself?" He tried not to flinch from the look Leonardo gave him.

"Because I want to." Leonardo snapped. "Now if you would just leave…"

Mikey shook his head. "No can do! I told my bros I was going to sit by you and here I am! I wouldn't lie to them." He continued seeing Leonardo begin to move. "And I'll just follow you if you move."

Leonardo grumbled before falling back into his seat. "Fine. You can stay." Mikey gave a happy squeal before beginning to talk about a number of things that Leonardo tuned out as he slouched in his seat. _What have I gotten myself into?_


	5. Changes in Thought

The rest of the school day went pretty uneventful for Leonardo. No strange people decided to visit with him in his other classes. He heaved a sigh of relief when the final bell to let people know school was over. He gave a rare but small smile. _Time to get out of here._

Unfortunately, as soon as Leonardo stepped out of the school, a boy about his height with dark brown hair and green eyes stepped into his path. The glint in his eyes made Leonardo inwardly groan. Every school he went to had one boy like this. One that always tried to challenge the son of Saki. It never ended well.

* * *

A ten-year-old Leonardo scowled at the leader of a group of bullies, after the bully had confronted him after school. He hated bullies; they reminded him of his father. This bully was called Sam who had red hair and was a bit overweight. He had always thought Leonardo was stuck-up because his father was Oroku Saki.

"It's about time I showed you what happens when you mess with me." Sam said with an overconfident look on his chubby face, as if he had already won.

But Leonardo knew Sam would lose. And he would lose badly. Leonardo was training to be a ninja, and had been for about six years now. "I don't want any trouble." He growled, trying not to get into a fight. He didn't like to fight, but would if he had to.

"Are you gonna go run away and cry to someone?" Sam teased. By then, a small group of kids had come to see the exchange. Quite a few had begun to chant 'fight'.

Soon the calls got louder and a larger group had circled around the two boys. Leonardo knew a fight was inevitable. _Please don't let this kid be too prideful._

Sam quickly put his fists up in his fighting stance, while Leonardo's was much more advanced. He spread his feet apart and bent his knees, putting his hands up in the stance that was second-nature to him. The larger boy raised his eyebrows at the look of his raven-haired opponent who looked strangely calm.

"You won't be acting all cool when I land one hit on you." Sam sneered. "You'll really be crying to your big dumb daddy by then."

Leonardo stiffened at the mention of his father, which Sam noticed with a smirk. "Did I hit a nerve princess?" He teased.

_Big mistake._ Leonardo inwardly growled as he charged the unsuspecting redhead. Before Sam could move, Leonardo had come up from behind him and pressed several pressure points on his neck which instantly felled the larger boy. Sam grunted in surprise at the attack and his face landed in a patch of mud. Before he could react to this, Leonardo had struck once again.

Leonardo leapt onto Sam's back and grabbed the large boy's hands, fixing them together. Sam tried to wriggle out of his captor's grip but Leonardo was stronger than he looked.

"I wouldn't mention my father ever again." The blue-eyed boy growled. "It just might be the last thing you do."

"What is going on over here?" A sudden yell from a teacher made all of the kids stop what they were doing. Each quickly scattered, including Leonardo who rushed up from pinning Sam to running away to his limo ride. Only Sam remained, still trying to figure out what exactly had happened and how to explain why he was covered in mud.

* * *

Leonardo's glare smoldered as he locked eyes with the dark brown-hair teen that had stepped into his path. _All I wanted was to go home. Is that too much to ask for?_

"Excuse me." Leonardo growled at the teen who merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Seriously? And I thought I had a bad attitude." The boy smirked. "The name's Raphael, but my bros call me Raph."

Once again Leonardo was assaulted by mixed emotions. _Who are these people?_ _Why are they all trying to socialize with me and not judge me? Did Saki set this up or something? What if this is all a trick?_

The thoughts jumbled in Leonardo's head, annoying him. He wanted to scream in frustration at all that he was feeling but didn't understand.

"And what do you want with me Raphael?" Leonardo seethed. "You wouldn't happen to know Michelangelo and Donatello by the way?"

Raph's eyebrows furrowed. "Mike and Don? Yeah they're my bros, but I don't want anything with you. Why would you think that?"

Leonardo let out an irritated huff of breathe. _So they are all related. This has to be some kind of trick. Liar._

Raph could see Leonardo struggling to stay calm which confused him. _This Oroku kid has some issues._ He thought.

"Look, Leo is it? Well I have no idea what your beef is, but I was just going to say hi." Raph said with a frown.

"It's _Leonardo._ Now if you would excuse me, I have to be going." He huffed pushing past the other teen. Raph watched him go with a glare.

As Leonardo walked away with a scowl on his face, Raph was soon joined by his brothers.

"He's trouble." Raph said, still scowling. Don patted his shoulder.

"I'm not sure about him, but he seems distant." Don agreed.

Mikey shook his head. "Hey he's not that bad. I'll tell you all about it! Now let's go get some pizza!" He shouted in glee as he started skipping towards his favorite pizza place not bothering to see if his brothers were following.

Raph and Don groaned as they followed their cheerful little brother.

* * *

Leonardo's fists clenched as he tried to focus on his homework while sitting at his small, organized desk in his room. Thoughts probed around in his head as he tried to sort through them. He desperately wanted to find out more about the three teens he met that had so openly spoken to him without so much as a second thought about it. _It's just not natural._

He let out an exasperated sigh, struggling to focus on finishing his assignments before brutal training. By then he would be too exhausted to worry about homework. Unfortunately, Mikey, Don, and Raph kept popping into his head, resulting in Leonardo pushing his biology book aside to lay his head on his desk.

_I just don't get it._ He mentally groaned. _And what is up with calling me Leo?_

Leo. The name sounded so foreign to the teen. He had always been talked to with Leonardo, but Leo had a nice ring to it. _Maybe I should let them call me that?_ _But they could be spies, and I really don't want to risk it. But, what if they're just normal kids that aren't scared of my father and might actually want to be my friends. Do I even still want friends?_

Leonardo scrunched his eyes. Friends. The prospect seemed so promising, so welcoming. **But remember what happened last time?** His conscious growled at him. _No bad conscious, stop sounding like my or our father._

He sighed in annoyance and pounded his head on his desk. Too many thoughts jumbling together were bad and made him talk to himself; since there wasn't anyone to talk to anyway.

_I should go out for awhile. I've been stressing out too much._

And with that pleasing thought, Leonardo left his room without a sound and a devilish grin on his face.

* * *

Mikey raced up his family's front steps two at a time with enough energy for all of his brothers. Raph stomped after him. "Mikey! Get back here! You owe me for that piece of pizza!" He yelled. Don sighed at his brother's antics and slowly sauntered up the stairs, rolling his eyes.

In the suddenly noisy house filled with rambunctious teenagers, the three brothers quickly raced off to their respective places. Raphael made his way over to flop on the couch and relax for awhile before dinner and training. Michelangelo rushed upstairs to his room to play an assortment of video games that he treasured. Donatello, though wishing he could go to his small lab to work on a number of things, instead had to go do extra training with his father and sensei.

As the tall brunette calmly walked towards the family's small dojo that was almost hidden away, he let out a sigh trying to figure out what he would discuss with his father about the unordinary day at school. Don shook his head before opening the sliding door to the dojo and gently closing it behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Donatello." A deep voice calmly stated. Don gave his father a small smile from where the man sat on the floor. His dark chocolate eyes warmly watched his son as the teen sat down. "How was school today?" He asked.

"Mostly normal with the schoolwork and teachers, but the Oroku kid you were talking about was there." Don began. His father leaned forward a bit, instantly engrossed in the subject. "Go on." His sensei said.

Don nodded and continued. "He seemed a bit rude at first since he bumped into me. Mikey had his first period with him and said he was quiet after a short outburst at the teacher. After first period Mikey tried to talk to him but Leonardo snapped at him and left. In second period, which I had with him, he was a bit more polite but seemed distracted and didn't talk much. He left pretty quickly for lunch, where Mikey joined him. I think that went alright, and none of us had him in any classes after that. After school ended, Raph met up with him. Leo seemed to be in a bad mood then and left quickly. And then we got pizza." Don took a deep breath and glanced at his Sensei to see his reaction.

His Sensei stroked his small beard thoughtfully at his son's words. "Hmm." Don watched his father think over his words. "I cannot tell if this Leonardo is trouble like his father or simply like any other teenager, though I highly doubt the latter. I wish for you and your brothers to continue to find anything about the young Oroku and learn about why they are here, because I believe the business deal was not the reason."

Don stood and gave his father a small bow. "Hai Sensei." He said and turned to leave before he was stopped by his father.

"Before you go, remember this. Until we know why the Orokus are here and we learn more about Leonardo, you must be careful. The Hamatos and Orokus have never gotten along very well and this will be no different. You must not let Leonardo find out you three are Hamatos or there will be trouble. Do you understand?" His father stated.

Don gave another bow to his Sensei. "I do Master Splinter. I will do my best." The tall teen quietly left his room. His father sighed.

"I do hope that you do."

* * *

Leonardo rushed up to the house through the pouring rain. He had been regenerated from his run, but it had been cut short by the thunderstorm that had finally decided to let out all of its might. He grabbed the handle of the front door and pulled it open, only to be surprised by the sight.

Oroku Saki stood by the entrance hall with frown displayed on his face. His eyes met Leonardo's as soon as the drenched teen walked in, and he narrowed his eyes a bit in disapproval.

"You are out late." Saki remarked.

Leonardo shrugged, trying to avoid his father's gaze. "Got a bit overworked. That's all."

"Well, I'm just here to pack a few things. I'm going to have to stay late at the office for a few days." Saki grunted. "Make sure you focus on your school work and training. Bradford will be taking over your training while I'm gone."

Leonardo's heart sank. Chris Bradford was one of Saki's top lieutenants of the Foot Clan, and he ran his own martial arts program. Not to mention he was heartless and disliked children. Xever was worse though. The leaner man was sneaky and wanted and also disliked children. Not very pleasant men.

"Hei father." Leonardo simply replied though he didn't like the idea. "Bradford won't know what hit him."

Oroku Saki gave a rare smile before turning and heading towards his room. Leonardo sighed and rushed upstairs to take a nice shower before he had to start the day over from destroying alarm clocks to being drenched.

A small thought made him cheer up a bit though it was both questionable and unusual.

_At least tomorrow I'll get to see Mikey._


	6. All in a Day's Work

Bright blue eyes popped open from a deep slumber. They wandered excitedly around a bright orange-colored room. Mikey practically hopped out of his bed and raced to his dresser to grab some clothes that were draped on it. Before he could yell 'pizza', Mikey dashed to the only bathroom on the upper floor of his house and slammed the door on the face of another that had been planning to enter the room.

"Mikey!" Raph yelled at his younger brother who had once again beat him to the bathroom. Grumbling a few rude things under his breath, he gave the door one more pound and trudged back towards his room. Giggles erupted from the blonde's mouth as he slowly opened the door to watch his grumpy brother leave. Before the older boy could turn around and scowl at him, Mikey quickly shut the door again.

Meanwhile downstairs, Don was performing his own morning routine which included drowsily stumbling through the kitchen until he reached the coffee maker. Impatiently waiting for his beverage, he thought back over what his Sensei had told him the night before about the Orokus. The words _don't trust_ kept ringing in his head. _If only I could get Mikey to do the same._

Don sighed at the thought of how his brother was too trusting for his own good and always wanted to befriend basically everyone he met. _Speaking of Mikey, he should be coming in 3…2…1…_

"Mikey! Get your sorry hide back here!" Raph yelled as he chased Mikey down the stairs and through the kitchen.

Mikey dove behind Don. "Donnie, save me!" He squealed as Raph tried to grab him. Don sighed as he pushed the two apart before Raph tried to strangle Mikey.

"Alright, that's enough you two." Don grumbled. Raph rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like someone hasn't had their coffee yet." The stronger boy teased. Don gave him a glare while Mikey giggled as he sat down.

A loud beep sounded through the kitchen as Don nearly shrieked in delight. "Finally!" He rushed over to his coffee machine and poured himself a cup with a content smile plastered on his face.

"Do you Donatello, take coffee to be your lovely wife?" Mikey teased, sticking his tongue out at his older brother. Raph chuckled at his brothers while Don gave another annoyed sigh.

The sudden sound of clacking brought the three brothers to attention as their Sensei and father walked into the kitchen with his cane. They each stood and gave him a respectful bow, which he gratefully returned.

"Good morning my sons." He said contentedly. "Did you sleep well?"

Each teen nodded their heads, two normally and one with added vigor. "Hei Sensei!" Mikey chirped, his eyes twinkling. "There was lots of pizza in my dreams!"

The other three groaned and shook their heads. "Well, I hope you have a good day as well. Now head on out to school. I don't want you being late." Master Splinter said.

Raph grabbed Mikey by the collar and towed him out of the kitchen and to the front door, much to the whining Michelangelo's displeasure. "Raphie stop it!"

Raph chuckled at his struggling brother and tugged him a bit harder. "You wish."

Master Splinter shook his head in exasperation. Don quickly grabbed his coffee mug but was stopped by his Sensei. "Do not trust. Remember?" The older man asked.

Don nodded. "Hei Sensei." With another swift bow, the teen jogged after his brothers. Master Splinter watched them go with a concerned twinkle in his eyes.

* * *

Leonardo awoke slowly; his eyes lazily wandered around his room as his brain started to reboot. He blinked several times before a yawn overcame him. Habit forced his eyes to where his alarm clock used to reside, before it was smashed, and the teen quickly hopped out of bed, panic starting to rise. _What time is it?_ His brain screamed at him.

Rushing downstairs, he looked up at the wall clock that hung by the bottom of the steps. A sigh escaped his lips as it read 6:17. Leonardo took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he began to trudge back to his room to get ready for school.

The teen picked out a casual outfit while pondering how his day might go. _I wonder if Mikey, Don, and Raph will pester me again. Mainly Mikey anyway._

With the thoughts jumbling around his head, Leonardo finished readying and strolled out the door to attempt a second day of school.

* * *

The sun shone through the various buildings, making the glass skyscrapers hurt any eyes that decided to watch the sun rise. It brought a somewhat calming and perk to Leonardo's day as he walked up the stairs to enter the high school. He noticed that though he was usually in a bad mood, today felt different. _Let's keep it that way._

A sudden shot of blonde entered his vision as he was soon accompanied by the blue-eyed teen he had met the day before.

"Hi Leo!" Mikey chirped, his eyes shining.

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "Yeah hi to you too."

Mikey squealed. "You didn't even try to correct Leo into Leonardo."

A small scowl perched itself on Leonardo's face. "It's Leonardo." He grumbled.

Mikey gave a fake pout before once again breaking into a smile. "So what did you think of my bros the other day? Donnie can be kind of a know-it-all and Raph is a grump, but they're good bros. Were they nice to you?"

"They were fine." Leonardo mumbled. "But they were kind of annoying."

"Well, you'll get used to them." Mikey replied. "After all, we'll definitely be seeing more of you. See in class!" The short blonde suddenly sped off before Leonardo could question the energetic teen.

Shaking his head, Leonardo trudged to where Mikey had rushed off. The blonde brought up a small memory of when Leonardo had been that care-free and innocent.

* * *

5-year-old Leo rushed over to where he saw his father was training a brown-haired and buff young man. He attacked his father's leg, trying to remember how he was taught to assault Saki. Unfortunately, he had surprised his distracted his father who shot his foot out and slammed it into the ground.

Leonardo yelped in both pain and surprise at his father's move and he hit the floor with a loud thud. The young boy groaned at having the air knocked out of him and from dizziness. Saki glared at him.

"What have I told you about disturbing my training sessions?" He snapped at the Leonardo who was attempting to sit up.

"Was tryin' to sneak up n you…" Leonardo slurred, his brain still seeming to rattle in his head. "S'rry fath'r."

Oroku Saki gave an exasperated sigh. "Quick break Bradford." He reached down to pick up his son and set him down on his steadying feet, not noticing the scowl on his pupil's face.

Leonardo looked up at his father, wishing he could be picked up again. "Did I do well?" He asked in a small voice. Saki simply tilted his head at his son and grabbed his arm.

"Come." He demanded, towing Leonardo out of the dojo. The small boy stared at his stumbling feet, shame filling him.

Oroku Saki pulled his son out of the large dojo and into the small clearing outside. It was a garden area for those to meditate in peace. A large silver fountain with three levels spurt water out, providing a tranquil back noise. Several cherry blossom trees stood around the area which was surrounded by lush, green bushes. The man continued on the decorated stone pathway to a lone granite bench.

"Sit." Saki ordered Leonardo. The raven-haired boy obeyed, not wanting to meet his father's gaze, fearing what emotions he had stirred up in his father.

"Look me in the eyes when I'm talking to you." Saki growled, alerting the young boy. Ocean blue eyes met golden ones.

"Yes father?" Leonardo squeaked out, fearful of what his father might try to do to him. His back was extremely sore from where it had been slammed down.

"Though I am proud of your skills to successfully sneak up on me…" Saki started, surprising his son. _He's proud of me?_ Leonardo thought happily.

"But, you not only disturbed my private training with my highest pupil but made me harm you." Leonardo's eyes held a small twinkle, wondering if his father actually felt bad about the accidental harm.

"You made me look like an abusive father. Thankfully it was just Bradford, who cares nothing about you. If you do that again and someone else is there who will think lowly of me, you will be punished."

Leonardo's dark blue eyes' started to fill with tears. _How could my father not care about me? I only wanted to show him I'm going to be the best ninja ever._ Trying to hide his tears, Leonardo looked down.

_But he wanted to punish me?_ The horrifying thought tumbled around in the young boy's head. _Why would he want to hurt me?_

Giving another angry sigh, Oroku Saki started back towards the dojo. "Stay there until we are done. I don't want you to get in any more trouble."

Without another glance backwards at his now crying son, Saki left the garden. Leonardo watched the new hazy ground from his tears, and told himself that he would be stronger from now on. _Just so I don't get hurt._

* * *

Don and Raph watched their younger brother rush off to where a familiar raven-haired boy was walking. Raph gave an annoyed sigh.

"Mikey seems to be getting a bit too comfortable with that Oroku." Raph growled. "Doesn't he remember what Master Splinter told us about them?"

Don gave a small shake of his head. "I know. But our sensei told us to get to know him, and Leo seems to be more open to Mikey." He pointed out.

"I know, I know." Raph agreed. "It's just I don't want Mikey to get hurt."

"Softie." Don teased, elbowing his older brother. Raph growled at him which made the taller teen chuckle.

Returning his pleasant smile to a frown, Don gave a small sigh. "Let's just hope Mikey can handle Leo."

* * *

Leonardo tried to pay attention to what was being taught, but his jumbled thoughts were once again surfacing. He still couldn't believe how friendly he had been with Michelangelo, but a small part of him actually liked having the company. It beat being alone any day. Raph and Don, he still wasn't too sure of him. While the blonde's compassion had seemed genuine, his brothers had been cautious about him. _It seemed like they didn't want to be friendly, but had been told to._

The thought made Leonardo question the teens and why they were being friendly with him again. _Maybe I'm being set up like I thought I was. Is that why my father is going to be gone for the next few days or am I just being paranoid? If only someone could give me some answers…_

Leonardo looked anxiously over at Michelangelo, who was currently extremely focused on doodling on a sheet of paper, his tongue sticking out. A sly smile grew on Leonardo's face. _And I know just who can give me some._ He thought.


	7. Past and Future

As all the high-schoolers gratefully walked outside of their school, Leonardo scanned the large crowd, looking for a familiar blonde. The smaller bouncing boy quickly appeared in the raven-haired boy's vision. Leonardo swiftly made his way over to the other teen, glancing around to make sure that Mikey's brothers weren't anywhere near.

Pleased to see that they weren't, Leonardo strode over to Mikey and tapped him on the shoulder. Mikey yelped in surprise and turned as fast as a cheetah. His familiar smile reappeared on his face as he noticed who had startled him. "Hey Leo!" He chirped. "What's up?"

Raising his eyebrows, the black-haired boy shrugged. "I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up sometime out of school."

Mikey's light blue eyes shone brighter. "You mean hang out?" He asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah." Leonardo nodded hesitantly. _I hope I don't sound too desperate or friendly._

Mikey threw himself around Leonardo, who froze in the blonde's grip. "Cool! I knew my bros were wrong when they thought you were a stick in the mud!"

Leonardo suppressed growling at the comment. Sure he never _really_ had all that much fun, and wouldn't be known for it, but it hurt knowing how different he was from other people his age. They didn't have to worry about exhausting training every night that left bruises and scratches, battering the body. Their father wasn't some power-obsessed, evil, millionaire and horrible excuse of someone every boy should look up to.

He was startled out of bitter thoughts by Mikey as the exuberant teen asked. "So when do you want to go and where do you want to go? Oh! I don't think you'll even know where to go! After all, you've only been in New York for what? Two, three days?" The blonde scratched his head. "Well whatever. Name a place and I'll tell you if we can go there!"

Leonardo racked through his brain to find a reasonable response. He wasn't sure where exactly he wanted to go. It hadn't crossed his mind where they should go. Teens enjoyed going to malls right? That was a start.

"Uh…" He started, mentally face-palming himself for the lacking response. Mikey however, continued waiting patiently with his blue eyes shining with excitement.

"The mall?" Leonardo managed to get out, if he had said it somewhat squeakily.

"Sure!" Mikey chirped. "There's this huge on! It's got like, um, 50 stores or something. Including the food court. We should get pizza! You like pizza right?"

Sweat formed on the back of Leonardo's neck. "Uh yeah. Couldn't live without it."

Mikey squealed and wrapped his arms around Leonardo. "I know! I knew we were going to be best friends Leo!"

Leonardo quickly pulled out of the embrace, despite Mikey's hurt look.

"Err, yeah." Leonardo said uncertainly. "I've got to go and uh, get some homework done. You know. For our um, trip to the mall on Saturday around one o'clock."

And with that, the raven-haired teen swiftly turned and walked speedily towards his waiting ride.

Mikey heaved a small sigh before once again smiling, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at successfully gaining a little trust of Leonardo.

His happiness was soon replaced by a small burst of pain as Raph suddenly came over to his unsuspecting brother and hit him over the head. "Owie Raphie!" Mikey whined. "Why'd you have to do that?"

Raph sneered at him. "Hello! Me and Donnie have been waiting for you to get your sorry butt on the road so we can get home already! You've been standing over here talking to Mr. stormy mood for who knows how long!"

"It was only like two minutes." Mikey pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. Raph just sighed and grabbed his brother's collar, much to the blonde's dismay and complaining, and towed him over to where their taller brother was waiting.

"Took you guys long enough!" Don said. "I've got a science project I need to start working on."

Raph scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever Donnie boy. You probably just want an excuse to get home and out of this hellhole."

"Well yeah." Don agreed. "I do prefer learning on my own."

"Yeah!" Raph smacked him playfully. "It's the weekend! Let's get out of here already!"

As the two began walking towards their destination, Mikey turned back to where he had seen Leonardo go. He opened his mouth to tell his brothers about his plans for the next day, but stopped himself. They had been warning him not to get too involved with the new teen, and Mikey decided that it wouldn't hurt them if they didn't know.

Turning back to his brothers, Mikey tried to hide his grin as he followed the two in front of him.

* * *

Leonardo flipped back onto his feet, barely dodging the kick aimed at his head. A grunt forced its way out of his throat as he received a sudden blow to his back. Not waiting to be pounded any further, Leonardo swiftly turned and delivered three quick blows to his opponent before flipping backwards to dodge any retaliation.

_God I hate training with Bradford._ He grumbled to himself.

Bradford rushed back to the teen in rage and aimed a kick at Leonardo's legs to unbalance him again. The teen however, jumped to avoid the attack and gave his own powerful kick at his older opponent's vulnerable chest. Bradford managed to step backwards in time to avoid the blow that would have either broken or bruised a few ribs. However the dodge cost him as he lost his balance.

As Bradford stumbled backwards, Leonardo rushed forward and jabbed his index and middle finger into his adversary's neck to hit a pressure point. The older man quickly froze at the motion and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Are we done yet Bradford?" Leonardo grumbled at the fallen man, not bothering to try and help him up.

Bradford flashed him a glare full of hatred. "Yes. Now get out of here." He snarled, trying to get up and ignoring the pain flashing through his neck.

Without another word, Leonardo stalked out of the dojo in his father's new mansion and headed upstairs to his room. He made sure to slam the door.

With a sigh, the teen flopped onto his bed. If training with his father was bad enough, he had to deal with Bradford too. The bulky brown-haired man was arrogant, but most people saw him as one of the greatest martial arts trainer. Bradford was not one people should admire.

"Coward." Leonardo mumbled to himself as he laid an arm over his eyes to try and calm himself. He had always liked the dark. Whether it had anything to do with training to be a ninja, or if it was just natural to him, Leonardo didn't know. But he felt more powerful in the ominous black, and he liked the feeling.

* * *

Rustling sounded through the alleys from rats and other night time creatures as they rummaged for scraps. A soft whimpering came from by one of the many dumpsters as nine-year-old Leonardo held his knees to his chest, rocking himself to try and calm himself. Los Angeles was not turning out to be a great city. Not only was Saki hardly there, but the city had been crawling with people bent on bringing everyone down.

Tears pooled in Leonardo's dark blue eyes as he remembered the words his father spat at him. _Useless! Weakling! Disgrace! Dishonorable!_

A sob escaped the child's lips as he buried his face into his hands, trying to find comfort. A loud screech brought Leonardo out of his misery as he jumped up in fright. Wildly, he looked around to figure out what had made the sound when he spotted a group of people running from something on the ground, but Leonardo couldn't make out what it was.

He waited until the three women and two men, most likely leaving a party, disappeared around a corner before he cautiously approached the unmoving object. Leonardo squinted his eyes and used the faint moonlight to see what it was. It was long and slim, and it took the boy a moment to figure out that it was a snake.

Carefully, Leonardo prodded the still snake with the tip of his foot. The creature didn't move. He bent down to get a closer look.

"It's dead." A voice came out of the shadows, spooking Leonardo. The boy whirled towards where he had heard the voice, getting back on his feet.

"Who's there?" He asked, his voice threatening despite the fear he felt.

A chuckle came from the shadows. "That's a good question. But I'm afraid I can't answer that."

Leonardo tried to figure out what to do; he could run away but that would mean seeing his father again. Or he could leave whoever was hiding in the shadows. All he knew was the person was a man.

"I mean you no harm." The voice said gently.

Leonardo remained tense. "Show yourself." He growled.

"As you wish." Suddenly, a tall, elderly man appeared from the shadows. He had squinted eyes, most likely Japanese, and had a white beard that had been braided. His long white hair rested on his back. The man wore a black kimono which seemed familiar and calming to Leonardo.

The boy's muscled relaxed, not sensing any threat in the elderly man. The man noticed Leonardo's calmed nerves and he smiled.

"Greetings young one." He said in a warm voice. "What are you doing out so late on your own?"

Leonardo looked at the ground. Sure he had been told numerous times not to talk to strangers, but this man didn't seem like he would try to harm Leonardo.

"I ran away from home." Leonardo admitted. "My father and I weren't getting along."

The elderly man's forehead crinkled in concern. "What troubles you so?" He asked gently.

Leonardo sniffed. "We got in a fight. He said some things that hurt."

The aged man approached Leonardo and laid a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright." He encouraged.

The raven-haired boy met the man's eyes. "But he's Oroku Saki. Nothing ever turns alright."

The elderly man gave him a warm smile. "It will. You just have to believe it will. It's like being a ninja. By believing in the shadows to hide and protect you, they will. Will you believe in yourself to see that you and your father can make up?"

Leonardo gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I could try I guess."

The aged man patted the boy's head. "I have no doubt you will make the right choice in the end."

Leonardo blinked up at the man in confusion. "But what do you mean?" He asked.

"You will find out Leonardo. Until then, I wish you the best of luck." And with that, the elderly man stepped into the shadows and disappeared.

Leonardo's eyes widened at where the man had disappeared. The boy shook his head and turned around. His eyes spotted the dead snake again and the words of the old man rung through his head. Slowly, Leonardo began to trudge back home, determined to try what he had been told to make up with his father.

As the young boy was making his way home, a sudden fearful thought struck him. _How did he know my name?_

* * *

A small smile covered Leonardo's face as he remembered how calm and comforted he had felt by being near the elderly man. Though he was still unnerved by how the stranger had somehow known his name, the man had seemed sincere. Not many people were like that, especially if they had any relations to Orokus.

Mikey was like the elderly man in a way. He too seemed sincere and wanted to help people, despite knowing who his father may be. It comforted Leonardo to know that there were some people in the world he could trust.

As Leonardo closed his eyes, still thinking about the elderly man, Mikey, and comfort in the dark, he sighed in content as his world faded into the world of shadows.


	8. What Friends are For

Awaking with a start, Mikey silently slipped out of his bed. He crept gently along the aged covered wooden floor over to his cluttered dresser. Grabbing the clothes he had picked out excitedly the night before, Mikey crept over to the bathroom, making sure to close the door very slowly. After finishing, he tried to keep his excitement at bay as he slid down the banister to the main floor.

Trying to find the right ingredients to make a decent breakfast, Mikey couldn't hide the large smile resting on his face. Surprisingly, he had never really had another friend other than his brothers. Due to the strict traditions and teachings of Master Splinter, the three teens had never felt the need to socialize outside themselves. They had always felt like a whole, but now Mikey was second guessing that statement. Leonardo was definitely a troubled soul, but Mikey felt as though the new teen deserved to have someone that he could lean on. Judging by the raven-haired boy's reactions to others, Leo had never had a friend, or at least a good one.

Michelangelo was determined to be the one Leonardo could trust. If along the way, and Mikey knew they most likely would, Raph and Donnie befriended the teen too, and then they could be a new group. A group of brothers, or at least resembling brothers.

_You cannot trust the Orokus._ Master Splinter's words echoed in Mikey's head, but he shook them away. He knew that Leo was different and shouldn't be judged by who his father was. Even if the two families were meant to be enemies, Mikey believed that the four could overcome their differences.

"Why are you up so early Michelangelo?"

Mikey whirled around in surprise, knocking over his cooking materials in the process. A chagrined smile crossed his face.

"Uh, heh, sorry Sensei." Mikey said, resting a hand behind his head in embarrassment.

Master Splinter sighed at his son while giving a small shake of his head. "Today is a Saturday, you are well aware of that fact correct?"

"Yeah Sensei." Mikey replied. "I was just trying to make breakfast."

"Yes, I can see you were _trying_ my son. But why? Usually you and your brothers do not rise as early as seven on the weekends." Master Splinter pointed out.

Trying to avoid his father's gaze, Mikey responded. "I was planning on meeting a friend today. And I have some stuff to do before that, so I thought I would finish it early."

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "You are meeting a friend. May I ask his name?"

Mikey gave a small whistle. "That is a good question! His name is, uh…"

Splinter raised his eyebrow even further, causing Mikey to have sweat start to form on his neck. "It's, um, Mark?" Mikey questioned himself.

"Oh yeah!" Mikey snapped his fingers. "His name is Mark."

"Well, when are you meeting this Mark?" Master Splinter asked, stroking his beard.

"Around one at the mall. I'll probably grab a cab. And we're going to get some pizza there." Mikey answered, wiping his brow in relief at not messing up another sentence.

Master Splinter, already guessing his son was not telling the entire truth and hiding his antics, asked. "This wouldn't have anything to with Oroku Leonardo would it?"

"What?" Mikey squeaked nervously. "Heh, of course not! I remember what you said about those Orokus. I clearly remember you saying that we couldn't trust them, yada yada and all that good stuff. Besides, my friend Mark isn't at all like an Oroku! I would know too so we're all good here!"

"You would know what an Oroku is like my son?" Master Splinter asked innocently.

Small drops of sweat formed on the back of Mikey's neck as he hesitantly replied. "Umm, no. I was just remembering what you said about them. Y'know, cause you said they were bad and all?"

With a small shake of his head, Master Splinter turned around. "Very well. You may meet this Mark at one, but I expect you at home no later than nine. Am I understood?"

A relieved smile broke out on Mikey's face. "Hei Sensei."

As he was leaving his once again free son, Master Splinter added. "Oh and clean up your mess too."

Mikey gave a loud groan, bringing a smile to Master Splinter's lips.

* * *

Leonardo paced his room, his mind wandering to how the day might turn out. It was already seven, and he had completed his training. After having the pleasure of telling Bradford about his plans, he had been ordered to four early and excruciating hours of training. And tomorrow he would have another seven; if Bradford was in a good mood.

_Like that's going to happen._ Leonardo thought as he inwardly rolled his eyes. His thoughts wandered back to his plans for today. Mikey had seemed generally pleased about his invitation, but all Leonardo wanted was some answers to what the brothers wanted and who they really were. _I don't even know their last name._

Leonardo abruptly stopped his pacing by a wall and slid down it, bringing his knees to his chest and leaning his head on them. "If only I could figure out who they were." He mumbled to himself. "Then I might have a better understanding of who they are cause they sure aren't as heck just some Johnsons."

The troubled teen gave a shaky sigh before once again standing. "Well," he muttered. "I may as well meditate for awhile."

* * *

Around eight years before, Leonardo sat in his usual meditative position. The only movements he made were deep breaths to calm himself. Occasionally, his hands would twitch at being in the same position for a couple of hours. But it was all the boy could do to control his frustration. All he had wanted was to take a short break and visit the warm, sunny beach. Every kid dreamed of it, but Leonardo had been forced to stay home and train. When he had asked his father, Saki had simply told him if he did, training would be longer and harder the next day. The young boy had obliged to his father and stayed home, but he could still feel the anger rolling off him in waves. Much like the ones he wanted to see.

Heaving a sigh, his dark blue eyes slowly opened, drinking in the dimmed candlelight that glowed in the darkened room. Leonardo slowly made his way to a closed window before gently pulling the curtains aside to gaze forlornly outside. It was another beautiful day that made any child itch to play under the rich sky.

Leonardo pulled the curtains back to their original position, blocking the view of the outside world. He slowly made his way over to the door, barely visible in the dark. He left the room without a sound and wandered downstairs out of his room to the front door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and let the sudden breeze whip through his air. As he stepped outside, the boy could feel the warming rays from the golden sun burn into his pale skin. Delightedly, he giggled in childish glee and stepped off the steps and into the fertile grass.

The raven-haired boy looked up into the sky, allowing the beams of sun warm his face. He flopped down onto the ground to marvel at the beauty of the day, but still wishing he could have gone to the beach. Perhaps there he wouldn't be alone and could mingle with others. However the hope of befriending others quickly fled as a shadow filled his bright vision.

"Get up. Now!" A growl rang through the peaceful air. Leonardo quickly scrambled to his feet as he realized his father had come to him. "Why are you outside? I told you to keep training! If you don't want to be a disgrace to your family then continue your training or else!"

The raven-haired boy sucked in his tears at his father's harsh words. "Hei Master." He weakly managed before dragging his feet to the cold, dark house. With one last forlorn look at the cheerful world, Leonardo once again entered the shadowed world.

* * *

Mikey skipped down his front steps with his signature gleeful smile. He had been ready for quite awhile, and had decided that early was better than late. _I can order pizza for us! But what does Leo like I wonder? Well I don't think he'll mind if I choose._ The blonde teen thought happily.

As he walked for awhile, Mikey was finally able to hail a cab and practically hopped in.

"Where to kid?" The middle-aged man asked, looking at Mikey through the rear-view window.

"The mall please!" He chirped. With a grunt of his understanding, the taxi driver drove towards the destination with a pleased Mikey aboard.

After a quarter of an hour, Mikey hopped out of the cab with a thanks and paying, and strolled up to the mall. He decided to wait by the front doors, the most used entrance, so Leo would be able to find him. The blonde teen didn't have to wait long. At exactly one, he spotted Leo warily entering the mall.

"Hey Leo! Over here!" Mikey shouted out, catching his friend's attention. With a nod, Leonardo made his way over to Mikey.

"Hi Mikey." Leonardo calmly greeted.

"Hiya Leo!" Mikey excitedly replied. He quickly grabbed Leonardo's hand, surprising him, and dragged him off to the food court. "Come on Leo. I haven't even had lunch yet!"

The raven-haired teen let himself be dragged by the younger boy, silently wishing that he wouldn't be touched. Though he wanted to start asking Mikey questions, he decided to wait awhile.

Mikey abruptly stopped, almost making Leonardo run into him. "So what kind of pizza do you like?"

Umm.." Leonardo started awkwardly. "Any is okay."

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "Okay Leo? I don't think so. What kind of pizza do you like, and I mean love?"

Trying to keep his sudden nervousness at being asked what he wanted at bay, Leonardo replied. "I'm good with any. Real good actually."

Mikey gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Alright I get to choose. No one in my family likes what I get. You sure about that?"

Deciding that it would be best to please the younger teen, Leonardo replied. "Y'know I really like pepperoni."

Pleased at the response, an amused twinkle shone in Mikey's eyes. "Me too. Go find us a spot will ya? I'll go order us some pizza. They give me a discount anyway."

Mikey walked off to a deserted pizza shop with bright neon lights surrounding it, leaving Leonardo to look around for an empty table. Thankfully, the food court wasn't too busy and he found a clean one quickly. As he sat at the table, Leonardo's thoughts wandered off to how he would ask Mikey what he wanted to know.

Though he was excited at the prospect of getting some much needed answers, Leonardo felt a pang of guilt crawling inside him. _I kind of enjoy the company._ He admitted to himself. But he was an Oroku, and when they put their minds to something, they generally worked until they got what they wanted. And that was exactly what Leonardo was going to do.

"Ooh, under the skylight. Nice choice." Mikey piped up, interrupting Leonardo from his thoughts. The blonde teen had a tray with two plates, each with several pieces of pizza.

"Oh, I didn't even notice really." Leonardo admitted. Mikey gave a small shrug before plopping down into the chair across from Leonardo. Gently, the blonde set down the tray. Leonardo raised an eyebrow at the younger teen's sudden concentration as he tried not to disturb any of the pizza's toppings.

"You can't rush perfection." Mikey pointed out. With a mischievous grin, he added, "That's why I was born last."

"Well, I'll be sure to tell Raph and Donnie that." Leonardo said with a straight face. Mikey stopped, his hand pausing midair with a piece of steaming pizza in its grasp.

"You wouldn't." Mikey challenged, his eyes widening in mock terror.

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "Sure I wouldn't."

Mikey gave a small pout, before breaking into a large smile. "I didn't know you were such a jokester Leo."

"That's because I'm not." The raven-haired teen replied before biting into his food.

"Hmm, that's too bad. I myself am probably the best jokester in the world and you just passed up on being my trainee." Mikey said nonchalantly.

"Yeah whatever." Leonardo sighed. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you some questions. I don't really know all that much about you."

Mikey tapped his chin thoughtfully. "True. Alright. You ask me a question, and I'll ask you one. Fair enough?"

Leonardo bit his lip, not pleased with the deal. Sighing however, he agreed.

"Alright, you can start." Mikey said, folding his greasy pizzaed hands and turning his attentive eyes on Leonardo.

Gathering his thoughts, Leonardo decided to ask smaller questions before moving up to the more important ones. "How long have you lived in New York?" He asked.

"All my life." Mikey answered. "My turn. Hmm." He bit his tongue before saying, "Where did you live before New York?"

"Let's see." Leonardo closed his eyes in concentration. "Do you mean right before or all the places?"

Mikey's eyes widened a bit. "You've moved more than once?"

Leonardo gave a rare chuckle. "More than once? Definitely. I'll take that as a yes for all the places. Let's see. I was born in Japan. A few years later we moved to Norway, Germany, France, Spain, and that's before the U.S. The first city was Seattle. I liked it there. Than it was L.A., Dallas, Miami, and Boston. And now it's New York."

Mikey's eyes were as wide as his plate. "All those places? In only, like 15 years?"

"Yeah." Leonardo said quietly. He raised an eyebrow at Mikey. "Hey, isn't it my turn to ask a question?"

"What? Oh yeah." Mikey gave a small shake of his head. "Alright, ask away."

Pondering a moment, Leonardo asked. "What's your favorite thing to do?"

"That's a hard one." Mikey admitted. "I like skateboarding. But I really like to read comics. And there's nothing better than playing a prank on one of my bros, especially Raph. Gosh Leo, why'd you have to ask me such a hard question?" He whined.

"Okay okay. I get the point." Leonardo said exasperatedly. "Alright, ask me something."

"The other day, back at the end of the first day at school, I noticed how you started to sort of move into a fighting stance. It was only a little and hardly noticeable, but are you in sort of training or something?" Mikey asked, a bit timidly.

Leonardo blinked. He hadn't realized just how observant Mikey was. _I'll keep that in mind._ "Yes actually. My father and some of his, uh, associates are all skilled in ninjitsu. They've been teaching me since I was about four."

"Four?" Mikey asked with a frown. "That's pretty young. My Sensei said that children that young could be seriously hurt if they started training then."

"Wait, _you_ have a sensei too? Are you learning ninjitsu?" Leonardo asked. Though his face was filled with confusion, which he felt, inside suspicion was starting to grow. It was extremely rare to find someone else who was training in the ancient art. Most people who Leonardo knew that trained in the art were some of his father's trainees.

Mikey immediately looked down, as if he said something he shouldn't have. "Um, yeah." He said quietly.

Knowing he wouldn't get another response out of the younger teen, though it was infuriating him, Leonardo sighed. "Well, I guess I just asked a question, so it's your turn."

For awhile, neither spoke. Tension filled the air between the two, keeping both in a sort of awkward state.

"So, um, you have any pets?" Mikey inquired breaking the silence.

"No. I've never had the time or permission." Leonardo responded, looking his companion in the eyes. "You?"

"Really?" Mikey asked, some of his nervousness fading. "Well I have an orange kitten named Klunk. My bros have a pet too. Raph has a turtle named Spike and Donnie has a cockroach named Spy Roach."

Leonardo blinked before giving a small snort, surprising Mikey. "Don has a cockroach named _Spy Roach_?"

Mikey have an exuberant nod, his energy returning. "Yeah. I never really got that." His eyes softened a bit. "But you don't have one? Never ever?" Leonardo shook his head, making Mikey continue. "Well, you could always get one…"

"Get a pet?" Leonardo asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Yeah." Mikey chirped. "They make great company. How about we go get you one right now?"

"I'm not so sure about that." Leonardo said slowly.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Come on! There's a small pet shop around here. They have some small things you could get that don't need all that much attention."

Before Leonardo could protest, Mikey had already grabbed his companion's arm and started towing him towards another section of the large mall.

"Now what would you like, I wonder?" Mikey mumbled, more to himself than to Leonardo who was trying to avoid eye contact from people the two passed by. The raven-haired teen racked through his mind to figure out how exactly he got himself in his current predicament.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two abruptly stopped in front of a small store with some green paint siding that had begun to peel. A crooked sign above the double-doors read "Peter and Kevin's Pet Extraordinaire". To Leonardo, it seemed very unprofessional, but to Mikey, the place brought back nostalgic memories.

"C'mon. I know you'll find the perfect pet! Me and my bros found our pets here." Mikey said excitedly. Without waiting for a response, he once again pulled Leonardo along with him.

A small bell greeted the two teens as Mikey pulled the doors open. The store was empty of life except for the animals going about their usual business and a very bored looking man thumbing through a magazine, sitting on a stool by a counter. He didn't bother to look up at the coming teens, which annoyed Leonardo a bit. However, Mikey seemed unfazed by the man's rudeness.

"Don't mind Tom. He's just trying not to be too curious." Mikey suddenly comforted from beside his companion, startling Leonardo a little. The raven-haired teen reminded himself of how perceptive the blonde was. "So, what kind of animal do you want?" Bright blue eyes watched Leonardo expectantly.

"Um, I think I'll just look around a bit." Leonardo admitted softly, slightly embarrassed at how feeble he sounded. To his surprise, Mikey gave a small nod.

"Sounds good to me Leo." The blonde chirped before moving over to a cage of fluffy rabbits.

Leonardo however, wasn't interested in anything 'cute'. His ocean blue eyes wandered around the shop, noticing every animal there was to offer. At first, nothing really caught his attention. Before he told Mikey that coming here was a waste of effort and he didn't even want a pet, looking at the joyful boy, Leo couldn't make himself do it. He decided to look at the animals closer, for the sake of Mikey.

As the raven-haired teen wandered by the exhibits, peering through the glass at the different creatures, he felt eyes trained on him. Turning, he noticed a gray snake watching him with small black, beady eyes in a small glass cage. Leo watched the creature with interest.

"Whatcha found there Leo?" Mikey piped up from beside Leo, surprising the taller teen.

"What? Oh I saw this snake." Leo said, his eyes still trained on the serpent.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Well I can see that. Do you like it?" Leonardo gave an almost vigorous nod. Mikey gave a small smile. "Looks like you found your pet." Turning to Tom, who was still reading his magazine and shouted. "Hey Tom! Leo here wants this snake!"

The greasy man grunted and slowly set his magazine down before wobbling over to the teens. "This the one eh?" He asked in a scratchy voice, as if he hadn't used it awhile.

"Yeah." Leo said, turning his head to Mikey. The blonde gave a small nod, giving Leo a little feeling of satisfaction. The man looked at the snake, a smile slithering onto his face.

"Eh, this the one me and Joe snuck in." He gave a hearty laugh before grabbing the glass cage and heading back over to the counter. Mikey and Leo exchanged a confused look before the blonde gave a small shrug and smiling.

"Yeah, me and Joe was in some country over in Asia or something." The man said, scratching his chin. "We was explorin' and such when we saw this snake here. Now Joe was always trying' ta read bout different animals and so he saw this one and said 'Ey! This one those rare dragon snakes!' And so we took it back. No one likes them snakes though, but I guess you do."

Mikey smiled at Tom. "Thanks! Gee Leo, I didn't think you'd be so lucky in finding a pet!" Leo gave a small shrug, wishing the attention of the two wasn't on him. However, he did like the fact that the snake he chose was called a dragon snake.

"How much for it?" Leo asked.

Tom bit his lip thoughtfully. "Well, seein how you's a friend of Mikey's, I'll give it to you real cheap."

Mikey enveloped the man in a quick but tight hug. "Thanks Tom!"

Tom shrugged off the teen before ringing up Leo's purchase and suggesting several other things he would need to take care of his pet before he waved them off.

"This is so cool!" Mikey squealed as they walked out of the shop. "Now that you have a pet, what are you going to name it?"

Leo closed his eyes to think while Mikey waited patiently. "Hmm, well it's a dragon snake and both are part of the Chinese way of life. And since dragons represent yang, I guess I'll name it Yang."

Mikey gave a quick huff. "You didn't have to make it so philosophical sounding y'know. You could have just called him Scales or something like that."

Giving a small shrug, Leo noticed a hallway leading toward maintenance. _I still don't know who you really are…_ Without another thought, he grabbed a surprised Mikey's arm, still holding his snake's cage in the other, and tugged him into the deserted hall. "Leo what?" Mikey started but was silenced by Leo. The blonde looked around a bit nervously, expecting someone to jump out.

"Alright, I need to know." Leo whispered. Mikey gave him a small frown but before he could say something, Leo interrupted him. "You and your brothers obviously knew who I was before anyone told you. Now I need to know who exactly you are, because you seem to know the Orokus better than anyone else."

Mikey gave a helpless shrug and unconvincing smile. "Sorry Leo, but I can't tell you." He sheepishly looked into Leo's eyes, searching for some kind of relief. However, Leo turned a glare on him.

"And why not?" Leonardo snapped. "I've let you call me Leo, and for awhile I kind of liked it. And I let you drag me around for who knows how long. I've been waiting for answers and I want them."

The blonde shook his head sadly. "Look, I honestly want to tell you, but I can't Leo. It's complicated."

Leonardo snarled. "I don't care! If you're going to lie to me, than I'm done!" The raven-haired teen spun around and began to stalk away when Mikey cried out for him to stop.

Leonardo turned, narrowing his eyes at the shorter teen who was watching him fearfully. "I-If I tell you, will you promise me not to tell anyone? And not to tell my bros or sensei that I told you?"

A small smile crept its way onto Leonardo's face. He gave a small nod. "I swear on my honor."

Mikey glanced around nervously before averting his eyes back on Leonardo. "Me, my bros, and sensei aren't really supposed to get along with you and your dad. You see, well, we're kind of _enemies_ back where both our families came from." The blonde tried not to stare too deep into his friend's blue eyes, terrified of seeing disgust or something along those lines. "Well, we're Hamatos."

A cold feeling spread inside Leonardo as he froze in hearing Hamato. The sworn enemy of the Orokus and he had thought he had made a _friend_ of one. The raven-haired teen watched his companion fidget uncomfortably under his gaze. "A Hamato?" He said quietly. "You all are Hamatos? In New York?" He watched Mikey give a small nod. "Well, I honestly wasn't expecting that, but I swore on my honor I wouldn't tell anyone."

"You won't then?" Mikey asked hopefully. His eyes began to brighten a bit.

"No I won't." Leo confirmed quietly. He didn't want to believe that he could have done something that was so against what his family and ancestors stood for, but honor was something he took seriously.

"That's great." Mikey said, lacking enthusiasm though at seeing the almost broken look on Leonardo's face. "Hey Leo, are you alright?"

Leo opened his mouth to say he was, but he couldn't say anything, too stricken with guilt and other mixed emotions. Slowly he shook his head, turning his gaze towards the ground. He felt a tear trickle down his face as his eyes began to fill with them. Saying anything now would force the tears out and then he would be nothing but a train wreck.

Mikey sadly walked up to his troubled friend and wrapped his arms around him. "Hey Leo, it'll be okay. We'll figure it out together okay?" He pulled himself away to look Leo in the eyes. The raven-haired teen gave another small nod before Mikey once again pulled him into a comforting embrace.

"Thanks." Leo whispered almost inaudibly into Mikey's ear. The blonde gave a small smile and squeeze before pulling away from Leo.

"Hey what are friends for?"


	9. To Confess and Remember

Slowly Leonardo limped through the school's hallways that were quickly emptying. He grit his teeth in pain as he stumbled to keep his balance while holding his books. Grumbling to himself, Leonardo managed to get to his science class with a couple of minutes to spare. He carefully walked to his desk and sat down with a grunt of pain.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Leonardo looked to his right, seeing that Donnie was talking to him with a concerned look. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine." He lied smoothly.

Donnie gave him an unconvinced glance. "Is that why you came stumbling in and limped over here?"

The raven-haired teen grimaced. "It's nothing out of the ordinary." He admitted, turning towards the front of the class.

"What do you mean?" Donnie asked quietly. He watched Leo, waiting for a response.

"Let's just say, my current sensei hates me." Leo said nonchalantly, earning an alarmed look from Donnie. "But it's alright. You should've seen what I did to him." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Donnie sighed. "If you say so. But if you need someone to look at it, I could. I've been reading up on medical stuff and I might be able to recommend some medicine."

Leo shook his head and waved him off. "Nah, rest is all I need. But thanks anyway." He turned to face Donnie again. "But where's Mikey?" He asked. "I didn't see him in my first period."

"Oh, he was feeling under the weather. He should be here tomorrow though." Donnie answered. He knew Leo had purposely changed the subject, but decided to let it pass. "You know," Donnie started, catching Leo's attention. "Mikey is really fond of you. It was you he met up with this weekend wasn't it?"

Leo gave a small hesitant nod. "Yeah, we-"

"Alright, listen up people!" Their teacher interrupted, bringing relief to Leo. "Class is starting."

Both teens turned towards the front of the classroom. With a final glance at Leo, Donnie decided to meet him later to talk more.

* * *

Lunch was horrible for Leonardo. Not only did people think it was okay to bump into him without apologizing, he had almost fallen twice before he even grabbed his lunch. Stumbling over to the empty table he had sat at before, he collapsed into his seat gratefully.

"Bad day huh?" A sudden voice surprised Leonardo. He quickly looked up and into Donnie's brown eyes. He relaxed a bit at the familiar face as the taller teen sat down.

"I've had worse." Leo admitted quietly. He trained his eyes on his suddenly unappetizing lunch and began to pick at it with his fork, avoiding Donnie's watchful eyes.

"I don't mean to be nosy or anything, but your leg seems to be really bothering you. Are you sure you don't want me to look at it?" Donnie asked politely.

Leo gave a small shake of his head, turning back to Donnie. "I'm fine really. You and Mikey are really kind of curious aren't you?"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're curious, but stop changing the subject. And besides, if you leg was fine, then you wouldn't always be wincing or almost falling over the smallest things." He pointed out.

"Look, I appreciate it, but I don't want your pity." Leonardo grumbled.

"I'm not pitying you Leo. I just want to help." Donnie said. "And Mikey wouldn't forgive me if I let his friend be in pain."

Leo gave a sigh before resting his head in his palm. "Sorry Don." He whispered. "I'm just not used to it."

Donnie tilted his head, confused. "What aren't you used to?"

Leo looked up, giving a small smile. "I'm not used to having someone care about me."

* * *

Seven-year-old Leonardo watched curiously at his father's new maids, slowly going about their cleaning business. He was on the second floor, in the shadows, peeking through the stair banister. His dark blue eyes zipped from one woman to another. Usually, the maids worked once a week when he was in school, but this team had to come in later because of the last ones having a disagreement with Oroku Saki. Most of the new ones looked rather old, with graying hair and saggy wrinkles. A few though were younger, maybe in their 30s.

Leonardo was crouching very quietly, observing the women when someone gently touched his shoulder, making him whip around and almost crashing into the banister bars.

A pretty girl, maybe in her lower 20s, was curiously looking at him. She was very pretty, with short dark brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes. "Who are you?" She asked sweetly. Leonardo blushed a bit.

"I'm Leonardo." He whispered, abashed.

The girl gave a small gasp and covered her pink lips. "You're Oroku Saki's son then?" She asked quietly.

He looked down, a bit annoyed at being recognized. "Yeah." He grumbled quietly.

Suddenly, the girl rested her hand gently on his shoulder. Leonardo looked up surprised. She gave a sweet smile. "My name is Miwa." Slowly, Miwa lowered herself to sit by the boy. "I will not judge you Leonardo." His eyes widened as he opened his mouth to respond, but Miwa put a finger to her lips. "I could tell by the look on your face when I gasped. You looked sad but angry."

Leo gave a small, hopeful smile. "I guess you could say that." He heaved a sigh. "It's just that no one likes me for being the son of Oroku Saki." He blushed again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to complain."

Miwa gave a small giggle, making Leo smile a little more. "I don't mind Leonardo-"

"Leo." Leo interrupted quickly. "Sorry, but just call me Leo.

Miwa gave him a warm smile. "Alright Leo. I like that better."

"Yeah." Leo agreed. "I do too."

* * *

Leonardo trudged painfully up the stairs to his, or rather his father's, large house. He slowly rummaged through his bag until successfully finding the house's keys. Unlocking and opened the door, the teen limped inside and straight up the stairs to his room. He flopped himself onto his bed, hissing when his injured leg landed roughly on the mattress.

He instantly remembered the face Donnie had given him after he had admitted that he honestly didn't have anyone who cared for him. There was a mixture of emotions that flashed quickly on the brown-haired teen's face before they swiftly faded into a calm, but concerned look. Leonardo knew that Mikey at least somewhat cared about his well-being, but Donnie had seemed as if he might as well. It confused the young Oroku and he quickly dismissed the hopeful thought. He had worse things to think about.

His leg, for example. After the long and brutal training session, Leonardo had found that he had received multiple wounds that would need to be looked at, but his leg worried him the most. He carefully rolled up his jeans' leg before hissing at what he saw.

Leo's right, injured leg had a long mark running from below his knee up to his thigh on the outer side. It wasn't too deep, but still might need someone to look at it. Quickly dismissing the suggestion, Leonardo leaned over to his side table's drawer and rummaged through it until he found the ointment that worked well on his injuries. It was all he had, but it usually worked well to stop infection. He carefully applied it to his leg, gritting his teeth at the sting.

After covering the wound, he rolled the pant leg down and put the ointment back into the drawer. Gently, Leonardo lay himself down with a content smile and closed his ocean-blue eyes into the comforting dark abyss.

* * *

"Come on Leo!" Miwa shouted excitedly with a large smile covering her face. "I want to show you something!"

"I'm coming!" Leo yelled back to his friend. He rushed after her, through the manor's open and spacious backyard. The seven-year-old caught up to the older girl easily, thanks to his training. "Um, Miwa? Where exactly are we going? And why are we going there now when it's past 10:30?"

Miwa rolled her chocolate eyes in good nature. "It's a surprise silly! Now come on!"

The two ran for a while longer before they began to slow down. As they stopped, Leo looked around curiously. It was dark, but the almost full moon provided plenty of light for him. He saw that the flat ground they were one lead on to a dip, but there was a part of the land that sloped abruptly upwards onto a steep overlook. Miwa grabbed his hand and pulled him up the overlook so he could see the view.

"Uh, this is nice and all Miwa, but why are we here?" Leo inquired.

Miwa gave him a sweet smile. "To see the stars silly." She sat down and requested he do too. The two lied down and turned their gazes upwards to see the bright stars.

Since the house was pretty far from the city of Dallas, the stars were visible. They shone brightly on the Earth and brought a smile to Leo's face. Fascinated, he watched them intently. Curiously, he turned his head to Miwa, who was also infatuated with the night sky's lights.

"How did you find this place?" Leo asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

Miwa blushed a bit. "One day I was supposed to be cleaning, but I was curious about the yard. I mean, it was big and I never saw anyone go out into it, so I decided to. I was just walking around one day since I had heard Oroku Saki wasn't going to be there, when I came upon this place. It reminded me of a place my mother used to take me too. I decided to come back at night to see the stars since my mother and I used to that." She gave a small sigh. "I fell in love with this place, and I knew I had to show you it."

Leo gave a comforting smile. "I'm glad you did. But I'm even more you found it."

Miwa gave him a saddened look. "Oh Leo. You're so young, but I've never seen your father show you any love." She said quietly, thinking of her own kind mother. Leo turned his head quickly back to the sky. "You're so very kind, but all of the other maids think you're rude and a horrible child."

Leo could feel his eyes begin to water. He hated knowing how others judged him. He suddenly felt arms wrap around him. "Shh." Miwa comforted. "You can let it out child. I'm here for you."

Wrapping his arms and resting his head into Miwa's neck, he let his tears out. "I-I just wish I wasn't his son." He sobbed. "I don't want him to be my father. People judge me. I hate him."

"It's okay Leo." Miwa said quietly, her own eyes beginning to water. "I'm here for you. I promise."

They lied there for what seemed like hours before Leo began to pull away from the comforting embrace. He rubbed his eyes, and sniffed. Miwa rose and put her hand out to help Leo up. They walked slowly and wordlessly back to the house.

A week later, Leo waited expectantly for Miwa and the other cleaning ladies to show up. To his horror, he watched as a different vehicle drove up to the driveway. Out of it came new cleaning women, and Leo realized he would never see Miwa again.

* * *

And Leonardo never saw Miwa again. He figured his father had found about his secret friendship and decided to end it. It didn't bother him too much, but he could still feel the pang of sadness of never seeing her again.

Shaking his head, Leonardo refocused himself on his training. Thankfully it was a private session, meaning he could rest his injured leg. Glancing up at the clock on the hallway to the dojo with it reading 4:43, he once again slowly ran through the simple kata.

"Leonardo!"

The raven-haired teen quickly glanced back to the hall at hearing his name. His heart sank at the gruff, cruel voice. Oroku Saki was back.

* * *

Donnie hummed to himself as he focused on his project, something he rarely had the chance to do. It was a simple design to make a robotic organism as he called it; his brothers just called it a robot. As the assigned leader by his Sensei, he rarely had the time to work on anything he wanted to do. Not being one to complain much though, Donnie obeyed his Sensei, though he desperately wished to be able to have the stress off.

Heaving a sigh, he lifted his work goggles from his coffee-colored eyes and lifted his head. He lost his breath, realizing it was already past four in the morning. Muttering to himself, Donnie rushed out of his small lab and nearly into his Sensei.

"M-Master Splinter!" He cried out in surprise, quickly bowing in respect. He searched his father's face for any sign that he was in trouble.

"Donatello." Splinter began calmly. "May I ask why you are up at this hour?"

The brunette fidgeted with his glasses. "I didn't realize how late, or early, it was. I just wanted to work on my project for a while, and then when I looked at the time, it was past four." Donnie looked at his feet, hoping not to be grounded for staying up late on a school night.

"I understand that your projects and experiments are important to you, but you cannot let them get in the way of more important things. Your family depends on you to lead them, and you cannot do that while you are distracted. It is the same with school, though I doubt it would matter as much, seeing how bright you are. However, you need to learn how to balance what you do in your life. More important things should mean more to you than other things."

Donnie hesitantly looked into his father's piercing gaze. "I'll try Sensei." He said quietly.

Splinter gave a small bow of his head. "Good. That is all I want. Now," He gestured to Donnie's room. "I suggest you get an hour or two of rest. I want you ready for school at your normal time."

"Hai Sensei." Donnie replied politely with a bow. He started off towards his room without a look back and collapsed tiredly onto his bed after gently placing his glasses on his tidy desk. However, the teen found sleep difficult to come by. His thoughts kept wandering back to his conversations with Leo.

_I'm not used to someone caring about me._

Donnie rubbed his head in thought at the troubled teen's response. He knew Mikey frequently seemed to know when others were silently suffering, and he wondered if that was why his younger brother was so intent on befriending Saki's son. The limping also came to his mind. Donnie had no doubt that Leo was in pain from whatever injury he had, but was either too stubborn or scared to admit he wanted help.

For awhile he considered consulting Master Splinter, as his father would not doubt know if Saki would be hurtful to his son or what he could to help. But he couldn't admit to his father that he had disobeyed his wishes. That would surely lead to trouble.

"If only Leo would open up to someone." Donnie mumbled to himself. He lied in bed, deep in thought when he suddenly opened his eyes. A smile grew on his face as he figured out who could get the teen to show more emotion.

* * *

At exactly seven, the usual Hamato routine started with a better feeling Mikey going about annoying Raph and the older to lash out playfully. Donnie quickly prepared his coffee, preparing for the arrival of his brother and noted to himself to drink more because of his late night and sat patiently, waiting for Raph to come downstairs. He drummed his fingers on the table while greedily drinking the energizing beverage.

As usual, Raph trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen, muttering about early mornings. He walked over to the fridge and began to search for something to appease his rumbling stomach. It took the teen a few moments to realize his younger brother quietly watching him.

Raph raised an eyebrow at Donnie. "You need something or did Mikey put some more stuff on my face?"

Fighting the sudden urge to smile at the memory of a Raph with make-up, Donnie replied. "Actually I do want to ask something of you."

"Yeah what is it?" The green-eyed teen asked with disinterest as he rummaged through the fridge.

Donnie adjusted his glasses. "I want you to meet up with Leo."


	10. Revelations

"So let me get this straight. You decided to ditch me the other day to hang out with the only person at school you're not supposed to hang out with, and then decided it would be gosh darn dandy to make me talk to him? Are you _crazy_?"

Donnie shook his head in exasperation at his hot-headed brother. With a sigh, he said. "Look Raphael, I know you don't like Leo, but he's not really all that bad. Just kind of guarded."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "And you think I'll be able to get him to talk? Gee Donnie. Great plan. I'm sure both of us, who didn't get along well the first time, will be able to become the best of buds after our second meeting."

"Raph, I know it's strange, but just trust me." Donnie continued. "You two are quite alike actually from what I've seen from Leo. And Mikey trusts him, and you don't want to let him down do you?" The taller teen gestured to their younger, spunkier brother who was currently transfixed on trying to shove all of his Trix into his mouth, not paying attention to his older brothers.

Scrunching his face, Raph grumbled. "Fine, I'll talk to him. But don't expect us to get too friendly, y'hear?"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "I get it Raph. I just think it'll be good to get to know him. Just think of it as getting to better know the enemy so you can strike accordingly later."

Raph gave a small smile. "I like that idea." He scrunched up a fist and slammed it into the palm of his other hand. "I just don't think I'll plan."

Donnie gave another sigh and stood, leaving the table. He passed the still distracted Mikey before heading towards the family's dojo. Gently he peeked into the darkened room, barely making out the shape of his sitting Sensei. Donnie crept slowly into the dojo and kneeled before his father.

"We're going to be heading off to school soon." Donnie informed his relaxed father. Master Splinter opened his dark eyes and gave a small nod to his son.

"I wish you all a good day, but before you go Donatello, I must ask you something."

Donnie looked curiously at his Sensei. "Yes?"

"Do you remember what I told you about the Orokus?" Master Splinter asked.

The brown-haired teen gave a hesitant nod. Splinter continued. "I do not wish to alarm you, but it is for you and your brothers' safety. In my meditations, I have detected more anger and danger from Oroku Saki. I believe he knows that we Hamatos are here, and will most likely soon be calling upon the Foot Clan to aid him."

Donnie's eyes widened. "But Sensei, how could he know we're here?"

Splinter shook his head. "I am not sure. Though I expect he may have known for some time before moving to New York. If he is aware that I am here, then he most likely has not come to New York for just any kind of business, but personal. I suggest extra caution from all of you."

"H-Hai Sensei." Donnie muttered, trying to hide his alarm. "I'll tell Raph and Mikey as soon as possible." He stood and began to leave the dojo when Splinter halted him. He turned towards his Sensei.

"I must warn you to come straight home after you are finished with school. I am not yet sure if Saki knows about you three, but I will not take any chances. As leader, I trust for you to inform and enforce this to your brothers."

"Don't worry, I will Sensei." Donnie assured. With a small bow, he left the dojo with a sick-feeling in his stomach.

Leonardo grasped his wrist that had already begun to swell. Unfortunately, with his father home, and in quite the bad mood, the teenager had been forced to endure extra training before going to school. No explanation was given to him, though he wished to ask, and now had to deal with the injuries that he hadn't been quick enough to avoid. Most were minor bruises and scratches, but Oroku Saki had been lucky.

During a sparring match, Oroku Saki had quickly moved to behind Leonardo and grabbed his vulnerable wrist. Sharply, he had twisted it and pressed it into his son's back. The teen bit his tongue, trying to hold in his scream of pain, before countering the painful attack. Though he had escaped soon after, his wrist had not been so lucky. Thankfully, he was ambidextrous and would be able to write with his left hand, though he would only be able to wield one katana for weapons practice that evening.

Grumbling to himself, Leonardo looked at the clock on his wall before turning his attention to his injured leg that had still been bugging him, especially throughout his training. Knowing he still had a good half hour before school started at eight, he rolled up his pants' leg. To his horror, the cut was red, with traces of yellow. He hesitantly touched it, feeling warmth.

Groaning to himself, the teen fell back into his bed. The cut was infected. He hadn't ever had an infected cut before. Usually he had smaller ones, due to him being completely focused on his training, but Sunday he had been thinking about his trip to the mall with Mikey. Leonardo's ointment generally took care of infection, but it seemed as if this cut was too large.

Leonardo contemplated on informing Donnie, knowing the other teen would be able to help, but just didn't know how. He had been taught that asking for help was a sign of weakness, the only thing he couldn't afford to have.

* * *

A young, five-year-old Leonardo sat sniffling quietly to himself in the corner of the house's main living room, though it was rarely used except for occasional business meetings that he wasn't allowed to join. The young boy tried to stop the tears that continually slipped down his reddened cheeks but couldn't stop the gentle flow. _It's not my fault._ He kept telling himself miserably.

It had been a couple of hours since the incident that had shaken him, but Leonardo could still feel the effects of fear clinging onto him. He had only wanted to impress his father, but now realized how foolish he had really been. Huddling in the dark room, Leonardo could feel the fear creeping back into his frightened soul as he fought to regain his consciousness from the enveloping feeling.

The correct term was acrophobia, but even the sound of it brought fear to Leonardo. He couldn't stand heights. He had no idea why they frightened him so, but whenever he tried to face his fear, he felt himself freeze up in panic and was unable to think of anything but fleeing to safety; if he could think at all.

Leonardo could still feel the traumatic memory burning freshly in his mind. It had started out as a normal training routine that usually drained all of his young energy at the end. Leonardo had to test his agility in a sort of course as he dodged shuriken and the occasional kick sent in his direction while maintaining awareness and speed to cover the obstacles in a faster time without injury. But his father had decided to set up a new obstacle; one that Leonardo had no idea he feared.

Running up to the wooden crates that had been stacked for him to climb, he quickly scaled the mountain. But stopping at the top to survey his next obstacle, he realized just how high up it was. The ceiling of the dojo was about nine feet with some extra inches. The crates were built up so Leonardo could fully stand, around three and a half feet. That meant that about six feet stood between him and the ground.

Before he knew it, Leonardo had begun to tremble fiercely. His mouth turned dry and his eyes widened as large as he could get them. He stood there for what felt like an eternity before he heard yelling from the far side of the room where his father was waiting.

"Leonardo! If this was a fight, you would be dead by now! _Get moving!_ "

But Leonardo couldn't move his freezed muscles. His breathing began to increase in panic at seeing the floor looming beneath him and the frightening yells of his father. Tears sprung to his eyes as horror overtook him.

"Leonardo!"

The young boy snapped his head towards the direction of his enraged father. The man's eyes were blazing and he stalked up to his frightened son. Without a second thought, Saki rammed into the stack of crates, sending it and his son to the ground. Leonardo let out a cry as he tumbled down, landing on his stomach. He curled up into a ball and the tears and sobs overtook him. His small body racked in fear.

"Leonardo! Haven't I told you not to have weakness, yet you stood up there and made a complete fool of yourself! You are a disgrace to me and the rest of your ancestors!" Oroku Saki roared at him. "You are worthless. Now get out of my sight." He sneered, turning away from the curled up Leonardo.

Gingerly, Leonardo began to pick himself up, trying not to look up at his father. His bottom lip quivered as the tears still streaked freely from his eyes like a waterfall. The young boy slowly moved towards the doorway to the dojo, attempting a final look back. Oroku Saki had not moved, not facing him with his arms still crossed in front of his chest. His whole body was tense, waiting for Leonardo to leave. By him, the crates were strewn about; one even had been reduced to planks and splinters.

The raven-haired boy continued his lonely trek to leave the fear-ridden place, but the terror clung to him hungrily. Leonardo found a dark and empty corner of the living room and gently lowered himself to the ground, despite his body's aches. He sat with his arms holding his legs to his chest, not bothering to hide his anguish.

Leonardo waited for his fear to subside, waited for more than two hours before the effects of terror finally subsided enough for the sniffles to stop. His tears had stopped coming, leaving his eyes red and horrid looking. The young boy took a deep breath before carefully lifting himself up, despite his body screaming at him in protest. He limped back towards the dojo, knowing his father was still there.

Hesitating at first, he gingerly peeked his small head back into the horrifying room. Oroku Saki was still, waiting for an invisible enemy. Lethally, the man struck out at lightning-speed at his unseen opponent, his arm slicing through the air. He made know gestures suggesting he noticed the presence of his son.

Taking a deep breath, Leonardo fully entered the dojo, waiting for his father to say something. Saki made no intentions of responding to the boy, and continued to strike deadly hits into the tense air.

"Um, father?" Leonardo managed to get out, desperately wanting to be acknowledged. His father said nothing.

Leonardo tried again. "Father, please."

Saki continued to ignore him, focusing his attention on training.

Despite his fear, anger overcame Leonardo. "Father! Look at me!" He shouted, clenching his fists.

Finally, Oroku Saki turned his gaze over to his son. The look he gave the young boy was hard and cold.

Forgetting his sudden anger, Leonardo gulped. "I-I wanted to say sorry." He mumbled quietly.

Oroku Saki narrowed his piercing eyes. "I will take no apologies from you." He focused his attention back onto his training.

Biting his lip, Leonardo tried again. "But father. I-I didn't mean to get so scared."

"That doesn't matter." His father responded bitterly. "What matters is you failed and let weakness overcome you. Fear will do nothing but tear you down and lead others to believe that you are nothing but pitiful."

Struggling to fight the tears that threatened to once again spill, Leonardo replied. "I-I just wanted to make you proud. To show you I was strong."

Oroku Saki gave a grim laugh. "Well, you managed to fail that as well."

Leonardo felt himself grow weak, and left the dojo with the tears falling before he even managed to get to his room.

* * *

Leonardo shook his head, willing himself to forget the painful memory of failure. He focused himself on the problem in front of him; his leg. Not knowing what to do, he applied more ointment to it, trying to ignore how warm the injury was, and rolled his pant leg back down. With a final glance at the clock, he picked himself up and headed downstairs to finish readying himself for school.

Knowing he was going to regret it, Raph looked through the crowd of students, searching for the raven-haired teen his brothers had encouraged him to find. After awhile, he began to lose interest in the unsuccessful search. Grumbling to himself as he heard the bell ring for everyone to enter school, he noticed Leo stumbling slowly from towards the building. Wondering why he was struggling so, Raph walked over to the other teen.

"You aren't lookin' so hot today. You doin' alright?"

Leonardo gave him a tired glance. "Sorry, but I don't feel like talking right now."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Sure, when Mikey needs a buddy or Donnie gets curious you want to talk. But when I'm trying to be nice, I get brushed off."

Leonardo shook his head. "No, it's just-"

"Hey," Raph put his hands up. "I'm just saying." And with that, the brown-haired teen moved forward towards the school, trying not to turn when he heard Leo sigh tiredly.

* * *

"So have you talked to him yet?"

Raph glared at Donnie. "Jeesh. It's only lunch; I'll talk to him when I want to talk to him."

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure." He returned his gaze back towards Leo, who was sitting with Mikey a few tables away. "I think he's doing worse." He commented with concern.

Raph grumbled. "I'm sure the rich boy has plenty of doctors that would love to make sure he's fine. Now forget about him."

"Oh, and you're not curious to why he's stumbling everywhere?" Donnie countered. "Yesterday he was the same way, but today is definitely worse. Even Mikey seems to have noticed."

The two teens watched their younger brother say something to Leo, who merely gave a small nod, a distant look in his eyes.

"I'm just worried is all." Donnie said, adjusting his glasses.

Raph rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Sensei would be glad to know that you're worried about how the enemy's not doing well."

Donnie glared at his brother. "You don't understand. Yesterday Leo said that he wasn't used to anyone caring about him."

The older teen shrugged. "He's probably just trying to get attention." Raph concluded.

"I don't think so." Donnie argued. "Maybe if you talked to him, you'd have more luck at finding what's wrong."

"Don, I tried to talk to him earlier. He brushed me off. Rich boy doesn't need anyone. Just leave him alone."

"Can you tell Mikey that?" Donnie rebounded, causing Raph to pause.

Recovering his composure, Raph scoffed. "Course I can. I'm his older brother right?"

"Yeah. I am too. Just please try to talk to Leo, okay? It's not like it's going to kill you."

Giving his younger brother a strange look, Raph snorted. "Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

* * *

The final bell rang, piercing through the quiet air and causing a stampede of students to rush out. Leonardo waited until it was less crowded before he gingerly started his painful trek out of the school. To his surprise, as soon as he stepped outside of his class, he was met with the same brown-haired, green-eyed teen.

"Raph, please." Leonardo groaned. "I really just want to get home."

Raph waved him off. "Yeah, yeah rich boy. But I promised that I would talk to you and I don't plan on going out on that promise, ya hear me?"

Stifling a sigh, Leonardo grumbled. "I get it. What do you want?"

Raph tried to hide a successful smile. "Alright good, I was hoping this wasn't going to get messy. But first we should probably go somewhere a lot better. This place sucks."

Not waiting for a response, Raph started his way towards the nearest exit, going slow enough so he knew Leonardo was following. Raph grabbed one of the two doors and swung it open, not trying to help Leonardo, and continued on. He walked down several blocks, slipping between passersby until he came upon a familiar alley. Reaching up to a fire escape, he grabbed the rickety ladder and heaved himself up. He climbed all the way to the top of the shorter building that he and his brothers occasionally came upon in some of their nightly excursions.

The brown-haired teen turned back to look down, seeing Leonardo silently struggling up the ladder. Raph noticed a small tinge of fear in the raven-haired teen's eyes, surprising Raph. He waited for his comrade to get close enough before reaching a hand down. Leonardo looked at it questioningly before gratefully grabbing it.

"Took you long enough to get up here." Raph grumbled while pulling up the other teen. "I was beginning to think you were scared or something." He felt Leonardo tense up beside him. Before the raven-haired teen could say something, Raph plopped himself down.

"Alright rich boy, so what is it about you that has my two bros so intrigued? Could it be because you're the son of the world-famous Oroku Saki? Or because they both feel bad for you in ways I don't understand?"

Leonardo took a deep breath. "I don't know." He admitted. "But they're really curious about my personal life."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? And what's so special about it?"

"Nothing." Leonardo replied coolly.

"Alrighty then." Raph said. "Then maybe it has something to do with that leg that seems to be bothering you? And why Donnie told me you said no one really cares about you?"

Leonardo winced. "I hurt it in training. It's nothing serious."

"Really?" Raph challenged. "Is that why you've been limping around for the past two days on it?"

"You don't have to be so nosy." Leonardo grumbled, narrowing his eyes. He turned away from Raph and crossed his arms, wincing when his swollen wrist bumped into his other arm.

Unfortunately, Raph noticed. "What's the matter?"

Leonardo shook his head. "Nothing." He lied.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and my favorite color is pink. Now let me see that." He stood and tried to grasp the other teen's arm. Leonardo's eyes widened.

"What? No!"

Leonardo tried to pull himself away, but Raph managed to grab the other teen's arm. He held it with an iron grip.

"Don't ask me why I'm being nice." Raph warned, still clutching Leonardo's arm. "I'm doing it for Donnie and Mikey." Gently, Raph rolled up the other teen's sleeve. Leo let him, not wanting to try and escape Raph's grip for fear of further injuring his wrist.

Raph bit his tongue as he saw how swollen the wrist was. "Now how'd ya do that?" He asked.

Leo shook his head. "Nothing much. Just training."

"Training too rough?" Raph scoffed. "How come nobody's done anything for it?"

"No one to do anything." Leo admitted softly. Raph grunted and let go of Leo's arm. Immediately the raven-haired teen rolled his sleeve back down.

"Alright." Raph grunted, trying to figure out what to do next. "You, uh, want me to look at your leg?" Leonardo looked over at him in surprise and confusion. "I ain't no doctor or anything," Raph huffed. "But it might help for someone look at it."

Leonardo glanced back uncomfortably. "That's nice and all, but I'll be fine really." He gave a hesitant nod as if to assure himself.

Raph's eyes softened a bit. "I'm only trying to help you. I'll admit I didn't want to, but if your leg is bothering you so much, someone should look at it. Assuming they haven't already…"

Leonardo shook his head. "No. No one's looked at it. I have an appointment though." He lied smoothly, feeling a bit guilty.

"And Donnie was worried about you." Raph scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I knew there was nothing wrong."

The brown-haired teen turned with a small smile on his face. The smile quickly drained from his face. "Exactly how did your wrist and leg get hurt though?" Raph gave Leo a curious glance.

"Training." Leo said quickly. He gave a shrug as Raph lifted an eyebrow. "I've been slacking lately."

"Yeah whatever." Raph said with a huff. "Now that I'm done here, I'll be leaving."

Raph gave Leo a last glance as he walked towards the fire escape and jumped down onto it.

Leo watched him in confusion at the sudden departure before also deciding to leave the building. _But first I have to get down._ He inwardly groaned.

* * *

Raph shoved his hands in his jeans pockets as he walked up the front steps to his home. He opened the door and shouted his arrival. Yawning, he started to the kitchen before yelping in surprise as he fell to the floor. Grumbling he looked up to see Splinter watching him with a piercing glare.

"Uh, something I can help you with Sensei?" He asked confused.

"Did Donatello not inform you that you are to return directly home after school?"

Raph rubbed his head as he stood. "Not that I remember." He shrugged. "He might've, why?"

Splinter gave a deep sigh. "In my meditations, I have found that Oroku Saki is enraged about something. I believe he knows about us being in New York and is trying to find us."

Shock coursed through Raph. "He knows we're here?" He narrowed his eyes, a sudden thought evolving in his mind. "Does that mean Leo does too?"

Splinter shook his head. "I do not know my son, but I believe it is something you must take precaution about."

Raph nodded, his green eyes blazing. "Don't worry Sensei. I'll make sure they don't find out about us."

"I trust that you will Raphael." Splinter said with a smile. He rested his hand on Raph's shoulder for a moment and left the room quietly.

Raph looked up to the ceiling, knowing his brothers were somewhere upstairs. "Don't worry guys," He breathed. "I'll make sure those Orokus don't bother us."


	11. Planning it Out

Mikey was awakened by something loud rumbling by his ear. Yelping, he popped open his eyes and struggled to get away from it, but ended up crashing on the floor. Mumbling, he rubbed his now sore head and peeked above the bed to see his Klunk watching him with a tilted head. Giggling, Mikey rubbed the kitten's head and stood up to stretch.

"Sorry Klunkie. But I've got to get ready for school." Mikey chirped to his purring cat. Klunk meowed at him, making Mikey smile and rub the kitten's head once more before he left to change.

Upon arriving downstairs, Mikey noticed a dark aura in the air, making him dart his eyes nervously around the house. He could tell something wasn't right, that something had changed. What was even more unnerving was that Donnie and Raph were nowhere in sight.

"Uh, anybody home?" Mikey asked, searching for someone to answer. An almost inaudible yawn sounded behind him, scaring the blonde. He whipped around to see a drowsy Donnie stumbling down the stairs.

Donnie gave Mikey a small smile as he saw his younger brother, but quickly felt it disperse into a frown. Mikey could tell that Donnie could feel the tenseness hanging in the air.

"Where's Raph?" Donnie questioned. "I haven't heard his grumpiness yet this morning."

"Dunno." Mikey replied. "But I'm starving." He began to slowly make his way to the kitchen, hoping the comforting room would brighten the house's mood.

"I could go for some coffee." Donnie said, brushing past Mikey.

The two walked into the room, surprised at seeing the light on with Raph sitting at the table, seemingly waiting for them.

"Uh, you need something bro?" Mikey asked curiously.

Raph gave him a small glare. "No. I just thought I'd get up early." He snapped.

Donnie sighed while rolling his eyes. "Well now we know why it seemed weird. You're just being a grouch."

"Maybe if you were a better leader, I wouldn't be like that." Raph whispered harshly. Donnie stiffened. The taller teen slowly turned towards Raph.

"What?" Donnie asked almost inaudibly.

Raph scowled. "You heard me."

Mikey glanced between his two older brothers as they stared each other down. "Uh, heh. I think I'll just go to school early today." He said quickly before rushing out of the tense house. Making his way onto the street he heaved a sigh of relief before his mind began to wander.

"Hope they don't fight too long." He whispered to himself. Shaking his head, Mikey wandered aimlessly on the somewhat abandoned streets. It was still early enough that most people weren't yet out, he noticed.

The blonde failed to notice several dark figures on a nearby rooftop, watching him. One of the figures pulled out a phone, clicked a button, and placed it to his ear.

"Sir." The figure said. "We've found one. Will continue to track. Report back later."

* * *

Leonardo watched the clock, waiting for his father to talk. The two sat at the long dining table, on either side. Oroku Saki was frustratingly tapping his fingers on the mahogany table, awaiting a phone call. Leonardo had been forced to join in, told it was part of his business.

Suddenly the phone rang, but was immediately quieted as Saki snatched it up and placed it to his ear. After a few moments, he gave a gruff response before placing it back on the table.

"You may be dismissed."

Surprised, Leonardo glanced up to his father before slowly pushing himself up, ignoring the protest of pain his leg provided. He gave a short bow before exiting the room and grabbing his school necessities and leaving the house gratefully.

The raven-haired teen arrived at the school early and sat on a bench outside of the school, giving him time to sort through his confusion at what had happened with his father and the phone. Hardly anything had been spoken between the two on it, and yet it seemed as if something incredibly important had transpired at that moment. _If only I knew what…_

"Hey Leo!"

Leonardo looked up at the familiar cheerful blonde making his way quickly over. "Hey Mikey."

Mikey plopped himself down beside Leo. "So you feeling better today?" He chirped.

"Yeah, I guess." Leo replied, trying not to feel guilt at lying. Mikey smiled, making Leo feel even more uncomfortable. "But with my father home, it's kind of hard to feel any better."

Mikey tilted his head. "He that bad?" Leo gave a small nod, making Mikey continue. "Well, maybe you could come over sometime to ease the stress."

Leo glanced down. "I don't know. My father isn't exactly the most care-free person around. And if I decided to sneak out, he'd probably know it."

Mikey bit his lip, trying to think. His eyes lit up. "Maybe if your dad leaves for awhile, I could come over! I've been wanting to see how Yang is doing." He looked at Leo expectantly.

"I'm not too sure about that. No one ever really comes over." Leo said. Mikey resorted to opening his blue eyes wide, even adding a pleading whine. Leo tried to resist the puppy look, but sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll try to find out when my father has to leave for awhile." Mikey gave another smile.

"Goodie! I'll bring Klunk too! He'll want to see Yang." Mikey said happily.

Leo rolled his eyes and the two sat in silence for awhile. Leo noticed Mikey occasionally falter in his smile, and his distant eyes looked on.

"Hey Mikey." Leo said suddenly, snapping the blonde out of his trance.

"Yeah?"

Leo shuffled to get a better look at his friend. "You seem pretty tense today, not to mention you're pretty early. Did something happen at your home?"

Mikey opened his mouth in surprise before snapping it shut and nodding. He turned away. "Yeah. It seemed really weird, and we were all pretty tense. I went downstairs where it was all quiet and Donnie came down too after awhile. Raph was waiting for us and he was really grumpy. But then they started to fight so I left."

Leo gave him a thoughtful look. "Did Raph tell you about what happened at our little meeting after school?" He asked quietly.

"What?" Mikey turned back to face Leo. "I didn't know you guys met up."

"Really? Well, Raph mentioned before he left that Donnie told him to talk to me." Leo said confused. "I didn't realize that you didn't know."

Mikey shook his head. "I'm sure it wasn't on purpose or anything." He gave Leo a half-hearted smile. "But what did you guys talk about?"

"Not much really." Leo admitted. "But he made me show him my swollen wrist."

"Swollen?" Mikey tilted his head. "Is it bad?"

Leo shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. But my leg is killing me. Everyone seems to think it's serious or something."

Mikey's eyes looked at Leo with concern. "If Donnie said it was bad, it probably is."

Leo shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. But school should be starting soon, so let's head in."


	12. Of Sneakings and Chats

Leo waited patiently and quietly outside his father's study door, listening to the almost inaudible conversation on the phone. The teen had been trying to figure out why his father would have such a secretive phone call without any yelling or grumbling mixed in. A soft click made Leo jump back from the closed door and carefully rush away from it. No reason Saki should know he had been snooping.

He tried to hurry up the steps but his injured leg gave out on him, causing him to stumble and give a sharp intake of breath. Leo grasped at the railway to stop his fall, and grit his teeth in pain. _Damn leg._ Slowly he began to make his way up to his room and snatched his phone before setting himself down onto his bed. He fumbled through his pocket to where a small ripped sheet of paper had Mikey's phone number, which he had suddenly received earlier that day.

"Helloooo?" Mikey's familiar voice sounded.

"Uh, hey. This is Leo."

"Oh hi! What's up?"

Leo looked up to the ceiling before mentally hitting himself. "I figured out when my father is going to be gone so you can come over."

"Great!" Mikey chirped. "When?"

"Friday afternoon, probably until real late at night. You should be able to come over for an hour or two."

"Hmm, I think I can make it. I'm supposed to have training but I can probably find a way to get out of it. I have real good puppy eyes." The blonde said mischievously.

"Alright." Leo agreed. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Kay, bye!"

Leo clicked the end button and gave a small sigh of relief. He had never gotten a chance to have such a simple phone conversation and could still feel the tingle of hesitation.

* * *

Raph knew something was up with his little brother when the blonde, who never seemed to use his phone except for playing games, unexpectedly got a phone call and left the dinner table to answer it. He could tell Splinter was a bit confused and surprised as well, but he did his best to hide it. Raphael desperately wanted to know who had called Mikey, but deep down had a sinking dread he knew who it was; Saki's son. The teen wouldn't tell his father, knowing it could have been someone else, but none the less still suspicious.

As the family finished up with their dinner and had cleaned up, Raph grabbed Donnie and towed him to the front hall out of prying ears. "Who and why do you think they called Mikey?"

Donnie gave a shrug. "Not sure, but I think I know who it might have been."

"Saki's kid?"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "I think he's older than you, but yeah. I don't really know anyone else Mikey hangs out with and I might've seen him take out his cell-phone earlier during lunch with Leo."

"Great." Raph grumbled. "Now even after what Master Splinter said about not hanging out with an Oroku, our little bro is switching numbers with one to go on a play date."

"You and him have never been fond of following orders." Donnie pointed out.

Raph snorted. "And you have? Well whatever. We need to figure out what Mikey's doing and when so we can stop it. Leo could be setting him up for a surprise visit with Saki."

"But he doesn't know that we're Hamatos, so Mikey should be safe if he doesn't tell." Donnie said. "Besides, think about it this way. If Mikey finds out more about them, even going over to their house, then he could find valuable information."

"What?" Raph exclaimed. "You'd send Mikey in there undercover?"

Donnie smirked. "I'm not your leader for nothing. But think about it. Though I'm not sure Mikey would be up for the idea of snooping, we could just tell him to look around a bit to see if they're dangerous and know that we're here."

"I'm pretty sure that Oroku Saki wouldn't just up and move to New York for nothing." Raph agreed. "But you'd better tell Master Splinter. He seemed interested in knowing who had called Mikey at dinner."

Donnie nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. I'll go tell him about what we're thinking, and you go talk to Mikey to see if it's true."

Raph gave a quick nod of his head and the two set off.

* * *

"Hey Master Splinter? Can I talk to you for a quick second?" Donnie asked as he entered the family's dojo to see his father.

"Of course Donatello." Splinter said, kneeling in a meditation pose with his eyes closed.

"Well, me and Raph think we know who called Mikey at dinner."

Splinter opened one eye to gaze at his son. "And who might that have been?"

"Don't get mad at Mikey for not following your orders, but we think it was Leo. Saki's son." Donnie said.

"Hmmm." Splinter grabbed his small beard to stroke it. "And what makes you think that?"

Donnie licked his bottom lip and continued. "We've seen them hanging out and it just seemed pretty strange that Mikey would get a call unless it was a friend. Leo was the only one we've seen near him."

"It troubles me that Michelangelo would continue to associate with Oroku Saki's son though I told him not to. He could have gotten himself hurt."

"But they don't know we're Hamatos, and I was thinking that if Mikey were to be invited to the Oroku house, he could get some information about them." Donnie stated.

"I can see what you are saying Donatello, and though I am still worried something could happen, I believe this plan could work well. If Michelangelo were to go with this, what was his name?"

"Leo, er Leonardo I think."

Splinter nodded. "Yes, if Michelangelo were to be able to find a way to get Leonardo to invite him over for a short time, he might be able to find out something about what the Orokus are up to. A well-thought of plan my son."

Donnie blushed. "Hai, Sensei. You think it might actually be able to work?"

"I believe that it has a chance." Master Splinter agreed.

"Hai Sensei. Thank you." Donnie gave a bow, and left feeling triumphant.

* * *

"So Mikey." Raph said casually, leaning over his younger brother who was currently watching TV. "Who called you?"

Mikey fidgeted. "Raphie, I can't see the TV with your big head in the way." The blonde stuck his tongue out at his older brother before moving his head.

Raph snorted. "Whatever. But seriously, who called you? A girlfriend?"

"What?" Mikey gave Raph a funny look. "No way man! It was no one."

"Uh-huh. Can I meet this no one?" Raph teased.

"It's not-oh nevermind." Mikey huffed. "It's none of your business."

Raph flipped himself onto the couch, surprising Mikey. "Yeah well I think as your older brother, then it is my business. Now cough it up."

Mikey crossed his arms. "Not telling you. Now leave me alone."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll just have to guess." He bit his lip mockingly. "It was, hmm, Leo?"

Mikey fidgeted. "No it wasn't." He mumbled, but knew he had lost.

"Don't make me punch the answer out of you…" Raph threatened with a sadistic smile, pounding his hands together.

Mikey gave a squeal. "Fine! It was Leo! Now leave me alone."

"Knew it. Donnie did too."

"Well it doesn't matter." Mikey scoffed. "It's not like he's your friend."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "And he's yours?"

"Well duh. I'm going over to his house Friday and there's nothing you can do about it." Mikey said with a triumphant smirk.

Raph tried to hide his own. "Yeah whatever." He said as he left his naïve little brother.

* * *

"Master Splinter thought it was a good idea." Donnie reported as he met up with Raph. "He even went so far as to say it made him proud."

Raph snorted and waved a hand. "Whatever brainiac. I got Mikey to spill. Turns out it was Leo and that he's going over to his house on Friday."

"Hmm. Guess we're lucky and spot on." Donnie noticed.

Raph smirked. "Yep. We'll find out what those Orokus are up to. And put a stop to it."


	13. For When the Bell Tolls

Leonardo knew that look plastered on his father's face: suspicion. He had been a witness to it for as long as he could remember, but now he could tell it was directed at him. Fortunately, Leo had practice for ignoring the hard looks Saki gave, but he couldn't help but feel unnerved. He didn't receive suspicious looks much since he hardly spoke out against his father, but Leo felt like his father knew he had done something behind his back. Leo just hoped it didn't have anything do with Mikey coming over Friday.

The raven-haired teen lied on his bed, watching his new digital clock with boredom. His usual training sessions had gone out of whack because of unknown reasons, which he believed had something to do with his father working with the Foot clan, but was relieved nonetheless. His infected cut had only gotten worse and he had no idea what to do about it. Going to a hospital wasn't an option; his father would probably get into a lawsuit about child abuse and Leo felt he would be the one hurt from it. His only other option was to have Donnie check it, but he didn't feel comfortable or sure how he would ask.

A sigh escaped the frustrated teen as his clock finally said a minute had passed. Leo knew Mikey would be coming over in about half an hour, but he didn't have a clue what to do at the time. He glanced over to the small enclosure where Yang slept in the darkened cage. A small smile formed on the teen's lips, but was short lived as the house phone suddenly rang. He huffed indignantly and slowly stood up, trying to ignore the pain that shot through his leg, and stumbled to answer the loud phone.

As soon as Leo picked the phone up to answer it, a gruff voice spoke. "Leonardo, since you know I will now be there this evening, I have decided that Karai join you."

Leo's jaw dropped open at his father's words. _Karai is coming over!?_

"I believe it has been some time since the two of you have spent any time together." Saki continued. "And since I know you have nothing better to do…"

Leo bit his lip. His father _was_ suspicious about him and not only that, but somehow _knew_ he had been planning on doing something tonight.

"And now I must go on with my work." Saki finished and immediately ended the call.

Leo stood in his spot, still holding the phone. He gave a sickened look at the phone. "Well," he mumbled. "This is just wonderful."

* * *

Mikey gave questioning looks to his older brothers. "You want me to spy on him?"

Donnie face palmed himself while Raph grumbled. "Well that has been what we've been saying for the past few minutes.

"I just don't get why you would want me to do that." Mikey answered truthfully. "Leo is my friend and I don't feel too comfortable with this."

Donnie gave a strained smile. "Look Mikey, think of it this way. Oroku Saki is our most hated enemy; he not only tried to destroy all of our clan and family, but also is basically trying to rule the world with his company. Don't think of it as spying on Leo, but on his evil father. You might be doing us all a huge favor."

Mikey gave him an unsure look. "I don't know. I still don't feel all that comfortable with this…"

"Well get comfortable with it!" Raph snapped. "He's our freaking enemy for crying out loud! Just get in there and try to find anything suspicious and report it back to us."

"Well you're the one that spied on me to figure out where I was going and who called me." Mikey retorted.

Raph growled at the blonde. "All I did was get you to tell by threatening to punch you!"

"Well when you put it that way it's perfectly fine." Mikey scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Why you little-"

"BOYS!"

The three brothers jumped and turned their attention to where their father now stood. They each gave him a guilty look. "Uh, hi Sensei." Mikey laughed nervously.

"I understand you feel unsure about intruding on someone else." Splinter said calmly. "But if you were to find out just one thing that could help us with Oroku Saki then your brothers and myself would be immeasurable grateful to you for it."

Raph snorted but was quickly elbowed sharply by Donnie.

Mikey bit his lip. "Well I guess I could look around a little…"

Splinter smiled. "Thank you my son." He glanced at the kitchen clock. "And now it looks like you must go. Enjoy yourself but stay on alert."

Mikey gave a quick bow. "Hai Sensei." He sprinted towards the door. "See ya guys!"

The door slammed, and Splinter, Raph, and Donnie all looked at each other. "We must all stay on alert as well my sons." Splinter said before leaving the room with one final glance towards where his youngest had gone.

* * *

A loud rapping on the door startled a troubled Leonardo. He glanced over to the front door from his perch atop the couch in his living room, awaiting an arrival from whichever guest would come first. He shuffled over to the front door and opened it to a smirking Karai.

"Nice place." She said as she strutted inside without invitation. "It could use a little more decorating though. I hardly see any weapons around."

"It's nice to see you too Karai." Leo said through gritted teeth while closing the door.

Karai smirked at him. "Of course it is." She looked around the interior before going to the nearby living room and flopping onto the couch. "Hmm, I could get used to a place like this. Headquarters isn't as hospitable and comfy."

Leo rolled his eyes as he followed her into the room. "That's because headquarters isn't supposed to be seen as anything but a powerhouse."

Karai shrugged. "I guess you could say that." She sat up and narrowed her eyes. "So why exactly why I ordered to come here on a Friday night when I wasn't invited to come to the welcome home party?"

"Well for one, there was no party. In fact, the thought of having a so called 'welcome party' was nonexistent. And secondly, I think you were told to come here because I was being eavesdropped on or something like that when I had to plan for finishing a group science project." Leo said easily, thinking of a quick lie to cover for Mikey.

"Hmm. Well I guess you could never be the one to do the eavesdropping right?" Karai teased.

"That was one time, and it was your idea." Leo grumbled to her.

Karai gave a small laugh. "Well I have to say I've missed you-"

The chime of the doorbell cut her off unexpectedly as the two teens looked over at the front door. Karai raised an eyebrow at Leo. "I'm guessing that's your science partner right?"

* * *

Leonardo glanced around the large room's interior with disinterest. Being 11 and having to go to a business meeting was not in his agenda for having a good time, especially when he had trouble just trying to keep pace with his mountain of a man father.

As the young boy tried to stretch his legs out further without trying to look silly, an unfamiliar girl standing in a corner of the room caught his gaze. Leo almost tripped over his own feet. She looked about a year or two older and had short black hair that had a little blonde most likely dyed on the tips. But it was her stunning golden eyes that caught Leo's attention which seemed to study him for a moment before the girl turned.

Hesitantly, Leonardo looked up to his father. "Do you know who that girl over there is father?" He asked without trying to seem too curious.

"If you are talking about the one over in the corner, then that is Karai." Saki said without looking or breaking stride.

"How do you know her?" Leo asked.

"She is a member of the foot. I rescued her from a burning house back in Japan when she was an infant and she now owes her life to the clan." Saki stated. "Now during this meeting you need to keep close attention to what is happening, after all, you will be running the company one day and I expect the best from you."

"Hai father." Leo said respectfully. He slowed to see if he could steal another glance at the corner to see Karai again, but when he did, she wasn't there. Confused, he looked around the room but didn't see the girl. Confused by her sudden disappearance, he didn't notice when he almost bumped into someone. "Hey, watch-"

Leo stopped midsentence at seeing he was now face-to-face with Karai. "I don't think we've been introduced." She said with a smirk. "My name is Karai."

"Uh, m-my name is Leonardo." He stuttered nervously.

Karai gave a small laugh making Leo's heart flutter. "You're kind of funny. I have a feeling we'll get along well." She winked at him and turned, strutting towards where Leo could see the meeting was taking place.

"Nice to meet you too." He whispered.

Leonardo adjusted his new Foot suit before scoffing at his reflection and turning away to face the small room's window. He still couldn't believe that his father was making him train with ordinary Foot soldiers when he had years more training and experience than them. "This stupid uniform doesn't help either." He muttered before snatching his twin katana blades and strapping them to his back. Taking a moment to look at his reflection again, he gave a little smile. "Those Foot won't know what hit them."

Leaving the room and making his way downstairs, the 13-year-old strode down the long, barren hallways to the Foot building's dojo. He silently stepped inside to study his supposed opponents before he stopped dead in his tracks at seeing Karai talking to an older Foot member. She seemed to know someone was looking at her, because she suddenly turned in Leo's direction. Seeing him, she gave her familiar smirk. She whispered something to her companion before starting to walk towards him.

"Haven't seen you in a couple of years." Karai said as she reached him.

Leonardo shrugged. "I've been busy."

Karai gave a small laugh. "Well I would think so, son of the mighty Oroku. I heard you get to be the one to whip these Foot soldiers today."

"Yeah, but it won't be much of a challenge." Leo sneered. "I still can't believe I have to train with these guys, and in this uniform."

"I'm not a fan of the uniform either." She admitted. "But it looks okay on you."

Leonardo gave her a small smile. "Well I suppose we'd better start training then?"

Karai smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Mikey switched weight onto his right foot before switching to his left and back again. He tried to focus on keeping a normal composure, but found it hard when he had to keep a secret. His brothers' and father's words rang in his ears as the door suddenly opened to him, revealing Leo and a teenage girl. He gave her a curious look before giving Leo his usual grin.

"Hey Leo. Who is this?" He asked, gesturing to Karai.

"Karai, meet Mikey. Mikey, Karai." Leo said. He cleared his throat. "So you ready to work on that science project?"

Mikey gave him a confused glance and opened his mouth to ask what Leo was talking about when he saw his raven-haired friend give him a stressed look at Karai, who watched Mikey with disinterest.

"Oh, the science project." Mikey said slowly. "Yeah, I was kind of caught up in my head. Y'know what that's like, am I right?"

Karai snorted before turning and walking back into the house. "Good luck on that project."

Leo watched her go before turning back to Mikey with a look of relief. "She said she wanted to go check out the dojo while we work upstairs." He clarified. "Care to come in?"

"You bet!" Mikey said, forgetting his nervousness. He stepped inside and looked around with interest. The house was huge compared to his family's smaller one, the perks of being a millionaire he guessed. The walls were a tan with dark brown trim that made them look larger. Most of the floor was a glossy wood with dark red rug, almost blood colored, in the hall.

"It's not as nice as you think." Leo muttered, noticing his friend's wonder.

"It's a lot nicer than mine though." Mikey replied. Leo shrugged and gestured for Mikey to follow as he led him into a larger room that he guessed was the living room with the assorted furniture and a snaking staircase that Leo was headed to. The upstairs was more of a hallway with several closed doors on either side, but Leo headed to farthest on his left. Mikey studied the house before he noticed that Leo was slowly moving with a limp.

"Is that leg still bothering you?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, but nothing I can't handle." Leo said without turning around. Before Mikey could reply that he didn't believe him, Leo opened up his bedroom door and stepped inside. Mikey looked around the room, surprised to see it was smaller than he expected and not as decked up as the rest of the house.

"I was expecting a chandelier or something." Mikey joked.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Just because my father is rich doesn't mean I want money rolling off me. It might not be much but it's enough for me."

Mikey nodded. "So where is Yang?"

Leo pointed to a tidy wooden desk. "In his cage. You can let him out though, but just watch him. He's pretty quick and tricky when he wants to be."

"Did you lose him before?" Mikey asked. He could just imagine Leo getting tricked by a snake, making him smile.

"No." Leo grumbled. "I can just tell by looking at him that he's trouble."

"Yeah, sure…" Mikey scoffed.

Leo gave his friend a hard look before a tint of uneasiness overcame his features. "I should probably warn you that I think my father might know that there are Hamatos in New York."

Mikey nodded. "That's what my family figured. They didn't think he would come here for just a small business trip that the news had said."

"Well, you're right about that. But it's not a small business trip. He's been gone a lot, but won't tell me much. I've been listening in on some phone calls he's been making lately, and I learned that he's planning on getting some of the Foot clan from Japan to come here." Leo said quietly.

Mikey's eyes widened. "You mean he's going to get the Foot clan to find us? But why would he be that desperate?"

Leo's eyes darkened. "I've only heard one side of the whole Saki-Hamato hate feud, but I can tell you that it's going to get worse. My father has been getting suspicious of me, and I think he knows that I've been eavesdropping, possibly even that I know more about you and your family. Karai was sent here tonight out of the blue. I hadn't seen her in a few years, but we should be okay if we keep going on about the whole science project thing while you're here."

"Do you think she might know that we're lying?" Mikey asked nervously. "I'm not the best liar."

"Thankfully I'm good at it." Leo assured. "I've been doing it most of my life, and Karai already trusts me."

"Okay.." Mikey said quietly. "But what if Saki sent her to spy on us?"

"That's what I've been thinking. You should leave soon to be safe. If my father sent Karai, then he's probably going to come here early. I just wanted to tell you what I knew in person."

"Will you be okay? If he knows you're hiding something won't you get hurt?" Mikey worriedly asked.

"I'll be fine." Leo insisted. "But you should go. I'll tell Karai you had to leave because your father called."

"Thanks Leo." Mikey whispered before getting up to leave. He waited for Leo to stand and escort him out, giving him a quick hug. Leo stiffened in surprise, looking at Mikey in confusion when the blonde released him. Mikey gave a small smile. "That's what friends are for right?"

Leo gave a rare grin. "Yeah."

The two made their way downstairs without a word. Leo noticed Karai wasn't around which worried him. He ushered Mikey to the front door and opened it, giving Mikey a reassuring smile. "See you at school Monday."

"Bye." Mikey said, walking out the door and turning to give a small wave before making his way onto the quiet sidewalk.

Leo closed the door, relieved that Mikey had managed to leave safely with Karai nowhere in sight. He started to make his way towards the dojo to see if Karai was still there, not noticing that a shadow moved as he passed it. The teen slowly limped into the darkened room, confused that the usual candles that lit it up weren't alive and glowing.

"Karai, are you still in here?" He called out into the darkness. He was given no response. Leo narrowed his eyes, searching for a hidden shape, not surprised that the kuniochi would try to sneak up on him. A small movement caught his eye. "Alright I know you're there. Come out already."

Another swift motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, but as he turned to get a better look, his legs shot out beneath him. A cry of pain escaped him as his injured leg slammed into the ground and the breath got knocked out of him. He cradled his leg to his chest in an effort to ease the pain, but a dark figure suddenly stopped above him. Silver gleamed on the massive figure, only visible from the faint candle glow.

Squinting his eyes, Leo managed to make out sharp claw-like hands and familiar blistering golden eyes glared down at him. The teen took a sharp intake of breath.

"Hello Leonardo."


	14. Running from a Friend

Fear blossomed into Leonardo as he gazed up into his father's smoldering glare. Out of the corners of his eyes, the teen noticed other figures emerging from the shadows of the dimly lit dojo, all with the familiar red foot on their black suit. Karai also appeared from behind his father with a cold look in her eyes.

"I see you've found a Hamato." His father said gruffly. "And not only that, but you've been associating with more than one." Saki began to march around his fallen son, his sharp armor clanking together. He kept his deadly glare trained upon Leo as he continued. "I was hoping you wouldn't turn out to be such a failure, but I had never thought my own kin to betray my clan and myself. Especially my son."

Leo kept his gaze steady, not letting the fear and nervousness he felt show. Suddenly Saki swiftly kicked Leo's stomach, the sharp points of his calf armor digging into the teen's skin. Leo let out a gasp and grit his teeth together. He curled in on himself to try to protect his vulnerable stomach before his father struck at him again. Leo squeezed his eyes shut and grunted after each kick until Saki struck his injured leg. A scream of pain escaped his lips as he felt the wound open up and blood start to trickle down his leg.

"You're weaker than I thought." Saki snarled, kicking Leo's leg again before recomposing himself. He turned to the foot soldiers in the dojo. "Follow the Hamato. Take him out when he reaches his home along with the rest of them. Bring Hamato Yoshi to me alive." The foot soldiers gave a quick bow and sprinted out of the dojo. Saki turned to Karai who was still watching Leo. "Go Karai."

Karai gave an annoyed huff before going after the other ninjas. Saki turned back to Leo. "Now, where were we?"

* * *

Mikey crawled into the taxi and gave the driver his address before slumping against the door behind the driver and leaning his head against the window. He sighed, disappointed at how short of a visit he had with Leo. He was slightly worried about the older teen but quickly chuckled at himself. Leo was capable of taking care of himself and was the son of a dangerous ninja. _But that's what worries me_. Mikey thought with a frown. Oroku Saki wasn't a stranger to violence and the blonde didn't think that the man would take mercy on his own son if he found out a Hamato and Oroku were friends. Especially the sons of Saki and Yoshi.

Mikey shuffled around in his jeans pocket for his phone to text Donnie he would hopefully be home soon before sending a quick text for Leo, asking him to text back as soon as he could. With no responses except an 'okay' from Donnie, certainly not a conversation starter, the blonde heaved a bored sigh and watched the city scenery go by.

* * *

"Gee Raph, he said he'd be home soon. Stop worrying your sorry butt off." Donnie said exasperatedly to his older brother.

"Hey brainiac, I'm not worried." Raph grumbled. "I'm…um, concerned."

Donnie rolled his eyes and scoffed. "That's pretty much the same thing."

Raph pounded his fist into his hand. "Hey I'll punch you if you want me to."

"And I thought you were-"

The sudden buzz of Donnie's phone made both teens jump as the scrambled to answer it. Donnie snatched it first and looked at the text. "Mikey says he has bad luck."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "And he's figuring this out now? How come?"

"Well, he seems very surprised and upset that he got caught in a traffic jam."

"Does he realize where we live?" Raph asked incredulously before closing his mouth at Donnie's disbelieving look. "Yeah, I know he's Mikey."

* * *

"I'll just get out here." Mikey announced to the cab driver as he leaned to pay the older man. Almost stumbling as he stepped out, the teen quickly made his way to the sidewalk on his right and continued on foot home. He mumbled about his bad luck, grabbing his phone and texting his brothers about his great luck and continued his slow pace. The blonde noticed an alley that would save him a couple of minutes and decided to take it, not noticing the dark figures watching him from a rooftop.

Mikey stuffed his hands into jeans pockets and kept his bored gaze forward. A sudden chill crawled up his back and turned around. Not seeing anything, he mentally slapped himself for being paranoid and continued his lonely walk, until he could feel several presences nearby. He turned again, reaching into the back of his sweatshirt to grip his nunchucks.

"I know someone's there." He said, trying to sound menacing. Nothing or no one responded, putting the teen on edge. An almost silent swish from above caught his attention as he whirled to see something leap between the buildings. Fear crept into Mikey as he involuntarily took a step back, only to bump into someone. He whirled around to face a figure in some kind of black suit with silver fly eyes and red markings. The teen gulped. "You don't scare me."

The figure said nothing, but made some kind of hand motion. Ten more similar figures jumped down from the rooftops above in a circle around Mikey. "Still not scared." He nervously teased. Each figure suddenly pulled out a different weapon, ranging from bo staffs to sai, a few katana and even a mace. "Okay, now I'm scared." Mikey squeaked.

The figures jumped to attack Mikey as he let out a surprised scream and snatched his nunchucks, dodging the attacks and knocking away others. The figures all turned to acknowledge the teen who had somehow made it to the edge of the alley. Mikey gave them a quick wave and sprinted away, not daring to turn around.

Mikey didn't know how long he had been running, barely missing hitting the few people who were out on the streets on the by the outskirt of the city. He was too scared to turn and see if the shadowy figures were still behind him. With a cry of relief he saw the familiar buildings come into view as he finally ran up the steps and almost crashed through the door in his frenzy to get inside. He slammed the door and quickly turned the lock. Mikey heaved a sigh of relief and attempted to catch his breath.

The thundering of approaching footsteps alerted the blonde to his obviously surprised family as they came upon him. He held up a hand before they could assault him with questions, and quickly pointed a thumb towards the closed door.

"No idea who is following me exactly," he huffed. "But I have a feeling this door isn't going to stop them."


	15. Walk and Talk

Raphael had always been a fan of fighting. He liked to feel his fists pounding into something, whether it be his brothers or punching bag. His favorite movies and TV shows frequently had arguments resulting in a good old-fashioned fist fight or people 'beating the crap out of each other', as he liked to put it; his sensei usually slapped him upside the head for the phrasing. However, as much as he liked to be involved in a skirmish, the enemy surrounding him and his family while seemingly coming out of nowhere and entering his home was beyond his liking.

With a snarl he rammed his fist into one of his attackers' stomach and jabbed his elbow backwards to catch the ninja behind him off guard. But as soon as the two went down, several more cloaked beings popped up near him. "Why won't these guys stop coming?" He shouted in rage.

"Stay focused Raphael." Splinter suddenly said knocking away a ninja that had advanced on the teen. With his entire home filled with the enemy, fear and dread swam inside the ninjitsu master as he attempted to fight them off and keep an eye on all of his sons. His brown eyes flicked back and forth as he took down enemy after enemy, hoping for a chance to round up his sons and make sure they were fine, but knowing who they were up against made his attacks slightly desperate.

He could see Raphael was handling himself fine with every ounce of his anger being put into taking down the enemy. Splinter trained an eye on his middle child Donatello to see him slightly struggling and fatigue starting to set in, worrying the man to no end. Thankfully Michelangelo was by his older brother but he wasn't looking well either, with most of his energy spent up from running and now battling. He brought his attention back to his eldest when a cry rang out.

"Mikey!" Splinter whipped around, sending several attackers to the ground to see his youngest clutching onto his left arm as red trickled down. Ice ran through him as he pushed through the ninjas. "We have to get out now!" He yelled, standing in front of his hurt son.

"Donatello," he started, alerting the teen, "take your brothers and get out now. I will hold them off." He could see the brunette about to protest before hearing another sharp intake of breath from his injured brother. He nodded and called out to Raph before grabbing Mikey and heading towards the door with Raph close behind.

"Sensei our pets!" Mikey shouted out suddenly in fear.

"I will get them! Now go!" Splinter raced upstairs to his sons' rooms, dodging attacks at each angle. He managed to snatch a hiding turtle, frightened kitten, and caged cockroach in the fray and hurried to his sons.

Splinter handed off the animals and fiercely attacked the assailants that tried to follow them as the four hurried out of the house. "Follow me quickly!" He called out to them, leading them away from the infested house.

The three nodded and raced after him; Raph chanced a quick glance behind him, anger bubbling up at seeing their enemy in control of their home. "They'll be sorry." He muttered to himself.

"I suggest one of you call a friend to take care of your pets. I have a feeling they won't like where we are going."

* * *

After dropping off the animals at the house of Casey Jones, Splinter slowed down in an alleyway and signaled to his sons."We cannot go back there now." He pointed to sewer lid. "We will have to go down there."

"But Sensei! We can't just let them waltz around our house like that!" Raph shouted with his fists clenched together.

"Raphael. I understand you are angry."

Fire blazed in the oldest teens' eyes. "I'm passed angry. You of all people should know that we can't let this happen! We have to go back and reclaim what's ours!"

Splinter turned. "Raphael! I understand you want to go back and fight but we cannot. We are outnumbered and if we stayed, they would have killed us and still taken our home. There will be no argument." He said, his voice rising.

The two younger teens watched the exchange. Finally Donatello spoke up. "Do you think we'll be safe in the sewers?" He asked quietly.

A sigh escaped their father. "I believe we will be my son. But we must hurry so they do not find us." He grabbed the sewer lid and gently lifted it up and gestured for his sons to go down. Reluctantly the three grabbed the ladder rungs and started down with Splinter keeping watch.

When all four were down, Splinter began to walk down a tunnel. "So Sensei," Mikey started. "Who were those guys exactly?"

"They are Foot soldiers. Ninjas that do most of the work for the Orokus. When I heard that Oroku Saki was coming to New York City, I did not think he would bring that many Foot Clan with him. I thought we were safe from his wrath but it was foolish of me to believe that I could ever escape it."

"Yeah. That's what Leo said." Mikey sighed. His family stopped to look at him. "What?"

"Leonardo is Oroku Saki's son correct?" Mikey nodded. "And he told you those things?"

"Well, he didn't exactly say that. But he was talking about how he didn't think his father was just coming to New York for business."

"Probably baiting you." Raph mumbled.

Mikey fixed him with a glare. "He's not a bad guy Raph. He just has a bad dad."

"Let us not fight." Splinter said sternly, continuing to follow the sewer tunnel. "But Raphael has a point Michelangelo. Orokus are well known for being very manipulative."

"Sensei! You haven't even met Leo." Mikey exclaimed. "Sure he's a little rough around the edges and his father has a deep hatred towards our family, but you can't just judge him on that!"

"You did tell us to never judge people and get to know them first Sensei." Donnie piped up.

Raph scoffed. "Don't you start standing up for him too."

"And why not Raph?" Mikey countered. "You like only talked to him once!"

"Well once was en-"

"Enough! I don't want to hear anymore of your bickering. We're almost to the lair down here." Splinter shouted, fixing them each with a glare before turning back towards their path.

"Sorry Sensei." Mikey mumbled. "But if we can't fight, then can you tell us about how you found this place again?"

"If it will stop your fighting." Splinter agreed. "Many years ago I came to New York from Japan on order of my former Sensei to clear my mind and come back a changed man."

"Sort of like finding your inner self?"

Splinter nodded. "Indeed Michelangelo. I was rather arrogant and hot headed when I was younger. Which resulted in my residence down here in the sewers. At first I took residence in a small apartment because I could afford it, but the neighborhood it was in was full of trouble. One night while I was walking home from a factory I had found work in, I heard screaming and yelling in a nearby alleyway. As I approached, I saw several men fighting and cursing each other. I was afraid that someone would get horribly injured so I stepped in and stopped them."

"You kicked their butts didn't you?" Raph asked suddenly, a small smirk on his face.

Splinter gave a small chuckle. "I did take them down, yes. But I recognized a man from my apartment in the fray, and he immediately recognized me as well. He threatened me and pulled out a gun. I knew that though I could take them without weapons, a gun turned the odds against me. I ran from them but realized he along with his men in the fight were chasing me. I did not want to lead them back to the apartment, because I feared someone else might get hurt."

"Couldn't you have called the police or something?" Donnie asked, curiosity replacing his former fear.

Splinter gave the question some thought. "I probably could have, but unfortunately lacked a phone. I didn't plan on stopping to ask for one either. And so when I managed to get farther ahead of them, I found a decent alley to hide in, but realized that they would not look in the sewer. I pulled the lid and jumped in, and at the right time too I believe. For not being trained in ninjitsu, they were very fast and persistent. I decided to move so they wouldn't find me and wandered the sewers. Eventually I came upon an abandoned subway station. Curiosity won out over caution and I explored the place. It was very roomy and not in all that bad of condition so I fixed it up, figuring that my former neighbor would not hesitate to kill me if I returned to my apartment."

"Do you think it'll still be decent enough to live in?" Mikey pondered. "I really don't want to live in an infestation of bugs and other things."

"I assure you it should be in good enough condition, though it has been awhile since I've been down here." Splinter admitted. "We will be safe."

Mikey sighed. "I hope Leo is too."

"You're bringing him up again?" Raph growled.

Mikey turned on him. "Yes I am Raphael. Why can't you just get over that he's an Oroku?"

"Because he's and Oroku!" Raph said, raising his arms.

"He's the first Oroku you've ever met!" Mikey opposed.

Raph grumbled. "Sensei tell him what's so bad about them. He's obviously not getting the point."

"I thought I said enough fighting." Splinter said. "But it goes more on instinct than anything else. Oroku Saki betrayed me and killed your mother. I believe since he had raised Leonardo that your friend will be no better."

"But Sensei he-"

"Enough Michelangelo." Splinter said sternly. He stopped suddenly, surprising the three. "And we have arrived at our new home."

* * *

His own short, raspy breaths were all he could hear, but his conscience was echoing his screams of pain from earlier. He felt something small and warm trickle down his cheek and onto the cold floor. Leo couldn't tell if it was blood or a tear, but then he didn't think he'd be able to move his battered body. A dark laugh made him shiver as he closed his eyes.


	16. Friends are the New Crime

Leo typically thought highly of himself; he was a worthy ninja, could frighten grown men, and usually could solve complicated problems. He however, didn't believe that the situation he was in could be fixed quite easily by himself, seeing he was a teenager. The dark-haired teen used to think he was superior to others, taught by his father of course, but laying on a cold, dark cell floor brought his confidence down to a great degree. He felt like nothing but a child. His infected leg was festering and the blood that had started to come out of his body with all his new wounds had begun to dry, giving him a horrible itching sensation, as if a million tiny bugs were crawling up his skin. The thought made him shiver.

Leo had attempted to lift his head to examine his injuries, but didn't have the strength to do so. He was feeling extremely exhausted, but the fear of falling asleep and being awoken by more harsh beatings frightened the drowsiness away. The only positive outlook he could think of at the moment was knowing that the Hamato family, who had treated him better than his father ever had, was safe because of him. He really only knew Mikey, but could see how deep the ties were between the brothers, and he had no doubt they were so kind because of the teachings of their father. In that moment, he wished he could have been born to a Hamato somewhere.

* * *

Splinter gazed tiredly down at his sleeping sons, relieved that they were alive and well. Knowing how close they had come to death from a monster from his past couldn't terrify him more. A small worry still pestered him though, at the thought of the boy who had become a friend of his youngest. Leonardo was talked of much by Michelangelo, and according to his blonde son, and warned him of his father Saki of knowing the Hamatos and obviously planning something. Though he was extremely wary of anyone related to his former best friend, the son of Saki gave him a deep fear, especially when he found out one of his sons and befriended the boy.

Just thinking of his long-time enemy made chills run down his spine. Splinter heaved a sigh at the predicament his family was in. But what could they do? It seemed as if the whole Foot Clan was in New York trying to kill them, and as strong as he and his sons were, he knew they wouldn't stand a chance against the Shredder's wrath.

A shrill beeping cut through his thoughts and he quickly looked for the source. Seeing his youngest son's phone flashing, he sighed and reached it out of his sleeping son's grip. Trying to shut the device off, he accidentally clicked on a small orange folder on the screen that opened up a collection of pictures.

Silencing the beeping, he curiously clicked on the first picture, blowing up a picture of his son Michelangelo with another young teenager. While his youngest was giving a smile as warm as the sun, the dark-haired teen gave the camera on the phone a frown. His breath caught in his throat at the boy. It looked exactly like Oroku Saki. The only difference was the obvious height and startling ocean blue eyes. Splinter had no doubt that this was the Leonardo his sons were talking about.

The boy looked mad, as if he didn't want to be in a picture, but there was a glint of happiness? Content? Splinter wasn't sure but as intimidating as the teenager looked, he also looked as if he liked where he was. It made Splinter wonder if his youngest was right about the young Oroku. But the fear of his old friend made looking at this teen too much, and he quickly pressed what he knew was the 'off' button.

Deciding meditating might settle his mind a bit, Splinter eased himself into a sitting position beside the lair's old couch and took a deep breath.

* * *

Hearing a sudden screeching of the prison's door, Leonardo lazily opened his eyes, despite how heavy his eyelids felt. He couldn't make out but a silhouette of someone slowly walking towards him. It was smaller, so he instantly felt a little more comfort at knowing it wasn't his father.

The figure stopped by the bars of his cell, and opened its mouth to say something, but Leonardo couldn't make out what was being said. Letting out a groan, he slowly pushed himself up and instantly felt like vomiting, but held it in. He blinked several times to clear his vision, only to see that Karai was standing, watching him. She was always hard to read, but he thought he could see something like sadness in her eyes.

"Hey." He managed to get out, though he could hardly understand it.

Karai gave him a small smile as he crouched down to his level. "Hey to you too." Her eyes quickly looked him up and down. "You look pretty beat up. I didn't think he would be so harsh."

"You and me both." Leonardo chuckled humorlessly. "But I guess what I did was considered traitorous."

Karai gave a small nod. "You could say that. I pretty much freaked out when I heard. The news has gone pretty much through the whole Foot Clan already."

Leonardo snorted. "I didn't think it'd make me that famous."

"Yeah well, the son of the leader of the Foot turning against his own father doesn't happen every day." The smile on Karai's face turned into a frown. "So why'd you do it?"

His gaze fixed on the floor. "They're just teens like us Karai."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "There has to be more than that. The Leonardo I know would never betray his Clan because he felt pity towards someone. He would be the one taking care of them. So what happened?"

"What do you want me to say Karai?" He snapped at her. "Look, I'm sorry that whatever I did may have felt like I was betraying you but I don't want to keep living in the shadow of a monster."

"But you're not!" She scowled. "You could've been a different leader than him, but you let something get in the way and now you'll rot in this prison cell forever. What made you go soft?"

"I'm not soft!" He yelled, but quickly clutched his side with a hiss of pain.

Karai's eyes widened and lost their anger. "Hey, are you okay?"

Leonardo looked up at her. "No. But there's nothing you can do about it?"

"Are you sure? I'm not great with healing and all, but I don't want to see you in so much pain."

He shook his head. "I'll be fine. I-"

"Like hell you will." She scoffed.

Leonardo sighed. "I was going to say that I don't want you to get in trouble for helping me. Trust me when I say he won't go easy on you either."

"He doesn't go easy on anyone, yeah I know." Karai rolled her eyes but smiled sadly at him. "But you're like a little brother to me. It hurts to see you hurt so much."

"Don't worry about me Karai." He smiled back at her. "In time I'll actually be fine and then you can take back all the nice things you said."

"Oh stop it." She said with a hint of her usual spunk. Her mood quickly turned serious again. "But what made you help those Hamatos?"

He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know really. I'd only met the two older teens a couple of times before, but I kind of became friends with the youngest."

Karai's eyes widened. "Didn't you know they were Hamatos?"

"I did yeah." He admitted. "But Mikey, that's his name, treated me a lot better than most people do. He wasn't scared of me and didn't care that I was an Oroku. He actually wanted to be friends, and I guess I really wanted a friend." He gave a small sigh. "But that doesn't seem to matter anymore, seeing how I'm stuck in a prison and I feel like hell."

Karai didn't answer. She turned away so Leonardo couldn't see her face as she thought. After a few minutes she turned back to him with a sly smile across her face. "We'll see about that."


	17. Daddy Issues

Ocean blue eyes traveled up the blurry, dark walls, tracing the outlines of the shadows let off by the nearby torch. The only sound was his slow breaths. He had still been having some trouble taking deep breaths without bursting out into a coughing fit. He blamed the fierce kicks to his chest.

Without much of an idea of what he was supposed to do next, Leonardo had been stuck sitting alone in the musty cell. The only time he heard the creaking, rusty door open up was when some Foot soldier came to check up on him and sometimes bring a bowl of soup and glass of water. He suspected Karai was responsible for that. He hadn't seen the older girl in a couple of days and hoped she hadn't gotten into any sort of trouble. Knowing her though, she probably had sometime in the past days.

Without much of an aim, Leonardo tried to move himself into a more comfortable position. His infected leg restricted his movement so he was forced to lean against the wall and tuck in his other leg towards his body and leave the other leg sprawled out. Feeling a little better, Leonardo closed his eyes and tried to inhale a somewhat deep breath. Ignoring the pain, the teen slowly fell into a deep meditation.

Splinter watched his sons slowly leave the dojo. Their lesson had been quite difficult as the man had wanted to start toughening up his sons more in case they ran into any Foot. The thought brought chills to him, but he had no other choice. He knew the family could only hide down in the sewers for so long, and he was actually surprised how long his teenage sons had managed to live down here without complaining or trying to leave. The ninja master knew it was only a matter of time.

Shaking his head, Splinter headed towards his isolated room in the dojo to meditate. His mind needed the temporary distraction. A sudden scuffle of feet caught his attention and he turned his head to see his youngest, Michelangelo, make his way towards him. Raphael and Donatello did not seem to be anywhere near the dojo which surprised the ninja master, as he thought they would have sent their youngest brother to ask if they could leave the lair.

"What is it that you want Michelangelo?" He asked the blonde teen.

His son looked up at him with hopeful blue eyes. "Hey dad. Um, I know that we're sorta supposed to hide out down here to stay safe and all..." He trailed off and looked down, earning a sigh from Splinter.

"I understand staying below ground is difficult my son, and I do not like it either. But it is important right now. It is too dangerous with the Shredder in the city with most of the Foot clan." He gave his son a small smile. "We will return to our real home one day, but for now we must remain down here."

Mikey shook his head, slightly surprising Splinter. "No, it's not that. I mean I do want to go back home and on the surface, yeah. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." He bit his lower lip and turned his gaze back up towards his father. "Dad. I want to go get Leo."

Splinter's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that from his son. He knew his youngest had been wanting to retrieve Oroku Saki's son, but he thought that Michelangelo would have known how dangerous it would be. They didn't even know where the young Oroku was.

"My son." Splinter started, but Mikey had already wilted a bit as if those two words said all he needed to know. _We are not going to save him._ "I understand that you have befriended Leonardo, but it is much too dangerous. If it was simply another of your friends, I would maybe think about it. But this is in the heart of danger. Leonardo is Oroku Saki's son, and we must not make any contact with that man if we wish to survive."

"But dad!" Mikey whispered, a slight quiver in his words. "I don't know what happened to Leo, but I know that he's in danger. You just said that being near Oroku Saki is the heart of danger, and I _know_ he's there. We can't leave him after he warned us. We can't leave him just because he's the son of the Shredder!"

Splinter's eyes softened and he gently rested his hand on Mikey's shoulder. The blonde teen looked at the ground, holding in his tears. "I understand my son. But it is too dangerous. I do not want any of you to be killed."

Mikey nodded his head slightly. Slowly, he turned and shuffled out of the dojo with unshed tears in his eyes. Splinter's heart ached for his distraught son, but he could not lose his family.

Splinter made his way back into his room. Carefully he lit a couple of candles and inhaled their calming scent. He gently sat himself down and crossed his legs. Taking a deep breath, the ninja master fell into a deep meditation.

The ghostly wisps curled around his feet. He always loved the feeling of being in deep meditation and the spiritual plain. He couldn't feel the pain here. He took a deep breath simply because he was able to here, and let a small smile come to his face. Karai had always complained how annoying and boring meditation was, but Leo had always loved it. It was a great way to get away from an overbearing father.

He began to walk aimlessly, only in the land of spirits to free himself of his pain. Sharp bursts of pain would often come to him, but he ignored them. This was the only place he could truly be free.

Splinter opened his eyes to the whites and greys of the spiritual plain. He let out a content sigh as he rose to his feet. He always enjoyed the sensation this "world" had. Something none of his sons had yet to find for themselves, but he couldn't blame them for being young. He had been like that at their age. The man began to slowly walk. There were no designated paths in the spiritual land but there was no need for them. He often mused that he was the only one who ever came to the spiritual land through meditation anymore.

A sudden noise from the foggy land made the man tense up. He listened intently, hearing another noise like the scuff of feet dragging along the ground. He whipped around towards the noise silently, briefly wondering if one of his sons had decided to meditate. He shook the thought away though, as a dark silhouette arose from the grey landscape. Splinter narrowed his eyes to see the person more clearly. The fog however, swirled around the figure as it approached him.

As the person came closer, Splinter could make out it was shorter than him and had its head down. The feet were barely making it off the ground and instead dragging across the ground. It almost tripped suddenly and let out a small gasp, before quickly regaining its balance and resuming its slow pace. Splinter tilted his head a bit in confusion. It had looked as if this figure had felt pain, but that was almost impossible in this land. By now, Splinter could make out black hair on what he could only think as a teenage boy, perhaps about his sons' age.

Splinter watched the boy as his dark blue eyes met his, obvious surprise in them. The boy tensed up and quickly positioned himself into a battle stance, but winced as he moved his left leg. Suddenly the fog started to dissipate, leaving a clearer image of the two. Splinter's eyes widened in disbelief while Leo took a tentative step back.

Splinter couldn't believe his eyes. This boy in front of him was the exact mirror image of Saki. From his raven-colored hair to the facial construction, and it even appeared that this teen was the exact same height as his former friend when they were teenagers. The only differences Splinter could notice was the ocean blue eyes watching him like a hawk and the scar running down the side of his face. The man couldn't tell if this was a distorted memory of his former friend or someone else that eerily resembled Saki.

Leonardo couldn't believe his eyes. He had never encountered another person in his meditation. He didn't even know it was possible to see someone else on the spiritual plain, and yet here stood this man. Examining him, Leonardo could see he had dark chocolate brown eyes and black hair. He was about the same height as his father and had a strong body build. He could feel his muscles tense up more from the man's scrutinizing gaze upon him. His leg spasmed again and he almost stumbled, but he couldn't move. Leonardo had no idea who this man was or what he was doing here, but he could be a threat. The teen wasn't particularly fond of being even more injured.

The two stared each other down. The only sound was the occasional slight hitch in the teen's breath. Splinter finally decided to speak after what seemed like hours. "Who are you?" He asked hesitantly.

The black-haired teen narrowed his eyes in response. "I should be asking you that." He snarled. "I've never seen anyone else on the spiritual plain."

Splinter noted the teen's aggressive stance. "Do you come here often?"

The teen hesitated, weighing his choices of what to say. Be defensive? Aggressive? Passive? Calm? He ignored the last two options. "What's it to you? I don't even know your name."

The man let out a small sigh, making the teen bristle. "I do not know your name either." He stated calmly. His calmness seemed to irk the younger.

"Well you're not getting it."

Splinter watched the angered teen, noting how each reaction reminded him so much of his former friend. "Do you know Oroku Saki?" He suddenly asked. The widening of the teen's eyes confirmed his suspicions.

Leonardo didn't know what to say. Whoever this man was, he knew his father. "I might." He gauged the man's reaction, but was rewarded with nothing. He bit his lip, deciding what to say. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Friend or foe?"

Splinter tilted his head, regarding the stubborn teen. He knew what the teen meant by the few words. The boy was trying to figure out what he was. "Foe." He answered simply.

The teen gave a small nod, losing some of the tension in his shoulders. He winced a little as his leg spasmed again. "And how do you know him?"

The man knew he had to answer this teenager's questions if he wanted answered. He was surprised though, at how guarded the boy was. "We were friends long ago in Japan. But an incident lead to a fight and we have been enemies ever since."

The teen straightened out of his battle stance, relaxing himself. "I suppose that makes sense."

Splinter almost laughed. This boy seemed to know Oroku Saki well himself. "May I ask you a question now?"

Leonardo looked down for a second before looking back into brown eyes. He was surprised to see a bit of warmth in them. "Yes."

"You know Saki." He said. "But how?"

The teen sighed. "He..." Blue eyes met the ground. "He's my father."

Splinter's eyes widened. "Leonardo?"

Leonardo looked up in surprise. He opened his mouth to ask how this man knew his name, his previous aggression forgotten, but couldn't utter a single word.

Splinter realized his mistake. "My sons know you." When the teen did not respond but to frown, he continued. "More specifically, Michelangelo."

The teen's eyes looked about ready to pop out. "You're Mikey's dad?" The man nodded. "You...you're Hamato Yoshi?"

Splinter nodded again. The teen closed his eyes, his thoughts jumbling together as he tried to process what was going on. Blue eyes looked up at what he now knew was Hamato Yoshi. "Is Mikey safe? Are you all safe?"

The man gave him a small but warm smile. "Yes."

Leonardo let out a content sigh. "That's good."

Splinter gently layed a hand on the teen's shoulder, making the raven-haired teen jump and wince. "My thanks to you for that."

The two didn't speak for a couple of minutes, but Splinter frowned. "And what happened to you?"

Leonardo shrugged off the man's hand, and shook his head. "Some punishment."

The man's eyebrow shot up. "It must be more than some if it still hurts in the spiritual plain."

The teen did not respond but to lower his gaze once more.

"I did notice." The man said gently. "Michelangelo has been worried about you."

A small smile graced the teen's lips.

"But how injured are you?"

Leonardo sighed. "There's an infected cut on my leg. It gets kind of hard to breathe cause I was kicked a couple of time. My wrist might be swollen too a little bit, but that's about it. "

Splinter frowned in concern at the how casual the teen made his injuries sound. "That sounds much more worrisome than you make it out to be." He blinked at the teen's shrug. "And where are you now?"

Leonardo looked at the ground and mumbled something Splinter could not hear. "What was that again?"

"I'm sorta in a cell." The teen said with a wince. "In the Foot Clan headquarters here in NYC."

The man did not respond, and Leonardo did not look up to gauge his reaction.

Splinter was a ninja master. He was head of the remaining Hamato Clan, but most of all, he was a father. Placing his hand under Leonardo's chin and raising the boy's head to meet his gaze, he smiled. "Then I suppose it is about time we get you out of there."


	18. Sly Sneaks and Secrets

It had been four days since he had seen Karai. Almost two since Hamato Yoshi. He would kill to see his father's expression at that. Leo let out a small breath of air to blow at his now long bangs hanging in his eyes. What he wouldn't do to cut them. The sudden creaking of the door to the cells opening quickly caught his attention. He turned his head towards the door, only to squint in confusion when it slowly closed with no one in sight. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder, making him jump.

Ocean blue eyes sprung open as they met amber. "Karai!? What are you-"

Karai quickly moved her hand to cover his mouth, immediately silencing him. "Don't you know prison breakouts are supposed to be quiet?"

Leo rolled his eyes as he weakly shoved her hand away. "I was expecting you to come sooner then. This place isn't exactly habitable."

"Well it's not easy breaking teenage boys out of their father's basement." The expression Leo gave her made her chuckle and she lightly punched his shoulder. "Just messing with you."

Leo let out an annoyed sigh. "So you got a key?"

"Nope." Karai said with her trademark smirk as she pulled out a kunai. "I've got something way better."

"And that's easier than a key?"

She rolled her eyes. "The key was somewhere I didn't exactly want to sneak into. Besides, this is way more fun."

Leo simply shook his head, knowing he couldn't discourage the older teen. "So you almost done there?"

Karai shot him a quick glare before giving him a devilish grin. "Yep." She slowly swung the door open before dropping down to Leo's height. She carefully snaked her right arm around his weight as he lifted his left arm onto her shoulders. Slowly the kuniochi stood, grunting at the extra weight. "Gee Leo, would it kill you to lose some weight?" She teased, though she was slightly worried by his small but noticeable loss of weight.

"Yeah yeah." He grumbled, slightly wincing at the strain of his muscles from not being used for quite some time. "You've just gotten weaker."

The two slowly started moving, the only noise Leo's sharp intakes of breaths and slight dragging of his feet. Breaking the silence, he asked her, "So what took you so long?"

Karai rolled her eyes. "Well I've been busy not being suspicious. Also tonight seemed like the best night to get you out."

Leo quirked an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well your father is having some big meeting or whatever that all his elites and most soldiers were required to attend. Something about extending resources and global domination of some kind. You know, the usual. I figured everyone would be too busy there to notice a jailbreak. Besides, the guards they posted down here tonight are barely novices."

He turned his head to look at her as they reached the stairs. "Wouldn't that mean you should be at this meeting, seeing how you are one of the higher-ups?

"Well yeah." She scoffed, beginning their trek up the staircase. "But I am a ninja. It really isn't that difficult to quietly sneak away."

"You have always been better in stealth." Leo admitted quietly, watching his feet.

"You know it." Karai winked at him. "That's why I'm the one getting your ass out of a cell."

* * *

Hamato Yoshi hated lying. It was dishonorable, and the truth usually made situations if not bearable, but better. Even the thought of his sons telling a white lie to him made him frown, he at least knew they wouldn't hold any major information from him. Which was why, for two days his stomach churned and a small voice in his head pestered him about not telling his sons about meeting Leonardo.

He knew that they, especially Michelangelo, would be greatly interested in his conversation with the raven-haired teenager. Even more so with his decision. Yoshi may not have known much about Leonardo but his heritage, but he couldn't let a child be sick and hurting alone in a cell like some kind of wild animal. He gave a silent prayer to his passed wife in front of a small memorial he had gifted to her, before standing to his full height. He was grateful at these certain times, that his sons were heavy sleepers.

Using all his skills of stealth, Hamato Yoshi left the safety of his family's temporary home. Or how he wished it was temporary. He ran through the sewers quickly but quietly like the shadows beside him. He passed several ladders leading to the surface before finding the one he needed to go. He climbed up the ladder swiftly, but stopped when he was right under the manhole cover. He listened to the hustle and bustle of city life above, but heard nothing out of the ordinary that might alert him. Slowly he raised the cover, peering around at his surroundings before judging it safe and sliding out, placing the cover exactly the way he had found it, as if nothing had come or gone.

Yoshi pulled the hood up on the cloak he was wearing and looked up, noticing a nearby fire escape staircase that lead to the roof of a taller building. He grabbed the ladder below the staircase and hoisted himself up. He didn't stop his swift movement when he gained footing on the stairs but continued upwards. The roof of the building gave Yoshi a stunning view of the city, but he paid no mind to this and instead focused in on an all too familiar sight that made him feel sick.

_Oroku Corporations_ stuck out like a sore thumb in the dazzling NYC landscape with its dark and dominating structure. How anyone could admire the building, Yoshi didn't know. And he didn't even want to fathom how people could like the organization. Ignoring the hesitation he felt, Yoshi rushed forwards toward the building.

* * *

"Almost there." Karai quietly said to Leonardo, encouraging him to keep moving his sore body. She would never admit it out loud, but she hated seeing him so injured. How his father could do this to him, she would never know. But she was loyal to Oroku Saki for saving her life and she wouldn't go against him. At least, that's what she always thought. Seeing her only real friend barely able to stand even with assistance made her feelings all jumble together and she didn't know if she was more loyal to the man who saved her, or the boy who befriended her. Ignoring the confusing thoughts, she focused on getting her friend to safety.

"I feel like I could sleep forever." He whispered, quickly letting out a yawn as if to prove his statement.

Karai couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Hold that thought for a while longer. I am not having you becoming dead weight for me to lug around all over the city. You're way too heavy for that."

To the kuniochi's relief, she had maneuvered them through the lower levels of the Oroku building with precision and their ticket to freedom, or the exit anyway, was within her sight. "There's the exit there. Keep your eyes open."

Leonardo opened his heavy eyelids and gave a small sigh of relief in seeing the bright red 'EXIT' gleaming in the dark hallway. As they approached the door, Karai gingerly adjusted Leo's weight so she could open the door handle with ease. She lead him out into the chilly night air and slowly closed the door behind her so it wouldn't slam shut. "Well then. That wasn't so bad. You ready to keep going there ' _Sleeping Beauty'?_ "

Leo rolled his eyes and scoffed at her. "Yeah yeah. I could keep going for miles."

"That's not what you said five minutes ago." Karai muttered to herself before pulling Leo back into a steady walk.

The two stayed in the alleyways where the shadows swallowed up their movements and the background noise of cars blocked out any of their chatter or small hitches of breath. Karai started feeling anxious. She had gotten Leonardo out of mortal danger, but she had no idea where to take him. She hadn't been in NYC any longer than the male had been there and she was walking blindly. She was glad that Leonardo was mostly out of it except for moving, or he would have no doubt been mocking or teasing her for not planning things through.

Karai let out a quick groan from her growing exhaustion, when a shadow swiftly passed over the two. She immediately stopped in her tracks, glancing up before moving she and Leonardo further into the darkness so they wouldn't be seen. She squinted her golden eyes to look for whatever had surprised her. From what she had seen, it was much too large to be a bird flying over them, and she realized that the buildings weren't all that far apart. Enough for someone to maybe not easily, but possibly jump across. She let out a curse at her ignorance.

After several minutes and no other movement, Karai cautiously began moving herself and Leonardo again though further against the building. Leo hadn't seemed to notice their small break and he was taking short breaths, slightly alarming Karai. She knew he'd have to really rest soon, and the heat pouring off him in waves did nothing to ease her conscious. With her worrying, she didn't notice the quiet 'thump' and distill of air behind her.

"Wait."

Karai spun around, forgetting about Leonardo's pain, to see who had snuck up on them. Leo gave a slight groan and Karai inwardly cringed at her carelessness. She quickly filed that away to see an middle-aged man standing in the alleyway. He had black hair and was Asian from what she could tell in the dimly lit alleyway. The man didn't look too harmless from what she could tell, but he had snuck up on her so she fixed a glare on him.

The man however, didn't seem to mind her aggressiveness and instead looked at the teen nearly asleep at her side. "Leonardo?" He cautiously called out.

Karai felt her breath hitch in her throat. Different ideas of who the man could be flooded her mind before she refocused on the man. She slightly turned her body so Leonardo wasn't as visible beside her. "Who are you?" She snarled at the man.

He didn't seem perturbed. "I do not mean you any harm. I have met this boy before and offered my help." He could tell the girl was entirely convinced, and he didn't fail to notice her protectiveness over the teen he had been looking for. "My name is Hamato Yoshi, and I have come to help."

Karai's eyes widened and her jaw almost fell open if she wouldn't have composed herself so quickly. Instead she tensed, narrowing her eyes. "A Hamato? We've been trying to find out where you _rats_ had snuck off to. I'm surprised you decided to stupidly walk out into the city when you're being hunted." She spat, as if he had insulted her.

"I understand your apprehension." Hamato Yoshi calmly said as if Karai hadn't just insulted him and his family. "But my sons are fond of Leonardo and think of him as a friend. I also have met Leonardo and know of his condition."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? You really are stupid. I have no idea what you're talking about with Leonardo knowing any little boys." Karai sneered. "And what the hell do you mean with his condition? Or even knowing anything about it?"

Yoshi bowed his head. "I know that you are confused and I won't leave any of your questions unanswered, but perhaps we could take this conversations somewhere else? Somewhere safer?"

Karai scoffed. "As if I'm going anywhere with you. If you want to talk you can do it here."

The two were stopped from further conversing when Leo groaned and slowly opened his dark blue eyes. He blinked several times, focusing on the blurry human-like figure he thought he saw. "H-Hamato...Yoshi?" He managed to get out in his weak voice.

Karai quickly glanced at him with her eyes widened. Yoshi gave him a sad look. Leo let out a small cough. "Wh-what are you...doing here? Where's-where's Mikey? Or even...Raph or Don?" His words riddled with large pauses as he caught his breath.

"I have come to assist you my child, do you not remember?" Yoshi calmly said, as if he was talking to his own sick son. "And my sons are safe. They are only worried for you."

Karai remained quiet during the exchange, confused as to how she felt about the whole situation. Leo spared a glance at her, seeing her confusion. "Karai." He whispered, gaining her attention. "I met and talked to Hamato Yoshi, in the spirit world."

She scrunched her eyebrows, before realizing his words and a small smile spread across her previously aggressive expression. "Only that would happen to you Leonardo." She whispered back.

Leo gave her his own smile and turned back to the other person in the alleyway. "How do you...plan to help then?" He asked quietly, with an almost mocking tone in his voice.

Hamato Yoshi smiled inwardly at the similarities to his own sons in Leonardo, before meeting ocean blue eyes. "My family and I have been staying somewhere safe where no one will find us. I can take you there to heal."

Leonardo nodded. He turned back to Karai, silently asking her opinion. The kuniochi let out a troubled groan. "It better be a five star hotel..."


	19. A Tearful Reunion

Karai continued following Hamato Yoshi, despite his question if she would like help supporting Leonardo. It wasn't like he was too heavy, even though she was doing most of the walking, but she still wasn't entirely sure if she could trust the Hamato. That and Leonardo seemed lighter than she remembered, which wasn't surprising with the circumstances, but it still worried her.

Her eyes constantly drifted to the younger teen's face. His eyes stayed half-closed, often closing completely and being quickly snapped open to stay conscious. She felt her heart slightly twist in despair at his poor state, but she had to ignore that feeling if she wanted to continue with him safely. The rest of the time she kept an eye out for danger, and the man in front of her. Hamato Yoshi was tall, about the same height as Oroku Saki, and he remained stiff as he walked. She noticed he also seemed to be quite anxious about their surroundings, as if expecting Saki to appear from the shadows. Not that she could blame him, seeing how they were taking his son away from him, but he would be too busy planning things rather than his weak son in a cell.

"We are nearly there." Yoshi's voice startled her from her thoughts. She glanced around at the buildings, noticing more warehouses than apartments.

"You guys live in a warehouse?"

She heard a small sigh from ahead. "No. My sons and I were forced out of our home when Foot soldiers invaded it." Remorse filled each of his words. "We found refuge somewhere I had to live for awhile when I first moved to New York City. It's not home, but it is safe for now."

"Finally..."

Leonardo's sudden voice surprised her. Hamato Yoshi also seemed to hear his faint voice and turned to the two. Karai noticed the worry in his brown eyes as he studied the tired teen. She still didn't entirely trust the man, but she knew he would keep her brother figure safe. It made her feel relieved, but another thought crossed her mind.

"I'm going to have to go back soon." She said to Yoshi. "If I'm gone too long than they'll get suspicious and I don't need them on my tail too." He nodded at her before taking a sudden turn and stopping.

Karai watched with growing dismay as he bent down and started uncovering a manhole. This guy was seriously going to take a sick teen into the _sewers?_ "You're kidding right?"

Hamato Yoshi turned to her. "I agree it is not the most comfortable place to live temporarily, but no one would ever look for a family down here."

She scoffed. "Yeah I don't know if you've noticed but it's not exactly clean down there. Leo has an infected leg. Are you seeing the problem?"

"I have found a habitable area that my sons and I have cleaned up." He met her unimpressed gaze. "We have a room specifically for injuries or sickness. He will be fine in there."

Karai still didn't like the idea, but she knew there wasn't another place safe enough for Leonardo. "If you say so. But how are we going to get him down this ladder exactly?"

* * *

Michelangelo was never an early riser, but when he opened his bright blue eyes he knew it was too early. It was hard to tell the time of day if you didn't have a clock around being underground, but he knew instantly waking up it had to be early morning sometime. Even stranger he was already wide awake, something compelling him to throw off his covers and get out of bed. He could faintly hear Raph's snoring and saw Donnie asleep in his room as he passed by so he knew neither of his brothers were up yet, but there was still something in his mind urging him to leave his room. Complying, he walked out into the living area, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. There was still something telling him to go, but he knew it wasn't because he was hungry or had to go to the bathroom. A sudden clink from the room he deemed the "sick room" caught his attention.

Confusion made his eyebrows furrow together. He didn't think anyone was sick. Raph was still snoring in his room and Donnie always left his room open at night and closed whenever he wasn't in it so he knew his brothers were fine. The only other person would be his dad, but he was rarely if ever sick. Mikey started towards the room, still wondering what his dad could be doing in there. He peeked around the doorway, noticing his dad rearranging some medical equipment on a table, things he had picked up years ago during his first stay here. He was about to ask his dad what he was doing in here at this time of day when something else caught his attention. One of the cots laid out for a sick or injured person had someone in it. He couldn't tell from the doorway, so he stepped in, catching his dad's attention.

"You are up early Michelangelo." He noted. However, he only received a slight shrug from his youngest as the teen continued towards the cot to see who was in it. Splinter carefully watched his son as he came to the cot's edge. The person was covered mostly by the blankets he was wrapped in, and Mikey tentatively pulled the blanket back. His baby blue eyes almost popped out of his head and his jaw dropped.

"LEO?!"

* * *

Instantly awakened by their younger brother's loud screech, Raph and Don practically leaped out of bed and scrambled to see what had alarmed their brother, running into each other in a tangle of limbs as they fell.

"Watch where you're going Dorkatello." Raph growled while rubbing his head.

Donnie shot him a heated glare. "You're the one who can't stop getting in everyone's way." He said as he stood up.

Raph jumped to his feet, clenching his teeth as he got closer to his younger brother. "What did you just say?" He snarled.

Eyes narrowed and arms folded, Donnie snapped back. "You heard me unless you're going deaf as well as blind."

"Why you-"

The two were interrupted by crying, what sounded like Mikey's. They shared a brief glance, the former hostility gone, as they rushed to their younger brother. Stopping at the doorway to the sick room, they peered in at their father gently holding Mikey's shoulders as he cried over someone or something in a cot. The two older teens shared a confused glance before slowly making their way into the room, unaware of what their brother could be crying over. Their father turned towards them and gave them a small, comforting smile and a nod. The two shuffled closer, in view of the person their brother was sobbing over. Green and brown eyes opened widely at the bed's occupant, similar to Mikey's had only minutes before.

"L-Leo?" Raph managed out after several moments of speechlessness.

"But how?" Donnie questioned, getting over his former confusion as he began to ponder. A second later he looked at his father. "How'd you do it?"

Raph seemed to understand his younger brother's conclusion and swiftly turned to his father. Mikey also peered up at the question, his blue eyes still filled with tears.

Splinter gave them each a small smile. "I had the easy part." His response only gained a blink from each of his sons before he continued. "I met what I assume to be another Foot ninja carrying him away from their headquarters. She had wanted to get Leonardo out of his captivity and managed to sneak him out of the cell he was being held in. I thankfully did not have to set foot in there, but she did not have a destined place to take him. It took awhile to get her to agree to come with me, but she followed me back to the entrance to the sewers. It took a bit longer to get him safely down the ladder when she had to return to the headquarters to avoid suspicion. I then carried him back here and treated his wounds."

Mikey gave his dad a quick but grateful smile before returning to his unconscious friend.

Donnie took in his father's words quickly and turned to look at the black-haired teen. His eyes quickly roamed over him. "And how were his wounds?"

Splinter sighed. "The wound on his leg is quite deep and infected. That is what is giving him his high fever and paleness. He also has some bruising on his ribs and a sprained wrist. Those are the worst injuries aside from some other bruises and cuts."

Mikey sniffed and clutched onto Leo's uninjured hand. His tears had subsided but seeing the normally stoic Leonardo looking so weak made him feel utterly powerless to help his friend. He wanted more than anything to see the usual glare from dark blue eyes.

Splinter was having darker thoughts. Seeing the injured teenager made his heart hurt but his blood boil. He could never fathom hurting his sons in such a brutal way that would leave them severely injured and unconscious. He knew Oroku Saki was a heartless man but to hurt his own child like this? Splinter tried to avoid violence when he could but he would like nothing more than to inflict similar wounds to Saki for this. He could find no explanation for hurting a child like this. His brown eyes wandered to the boy's face. The long scar running down the pale skin was most likely inflicted by Saki as well. No doubt the wound on Leonardo's leg would scar as well.

Looking at the three of his sons, all watching the sleeping teen, Splinter made a promise. "My sons," He said, gaining their attention. "I promise to you that Leonardo's wounds will heal and he will be fine." Mikey gave him a relieved tearful smile while Raph and Donnie nodded, each with a small smile. "And nothing like this will happen again."

Raph's brow furrowed. "But Sensei, how can you be sure? I don't think the Shredder is just going to let Leo stay somewhere else when he has so much power."

"Oroku Saki will never be allowed to touch his son ever again. I will make sure of it." Mikey looked up at him, his eyes pleading. Splinter laid a hand on his head and smiled. "I will protect him as I do for you all, my sons."


	20. Familial Feelings

The lights were too bright. He noticed that first when he regained consciousness. Although if he wasn't so groggy, he would have realized the lights were rather dim but being locked in a cell with nothing but a couple torches as light made quite a difference. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting up at the dismal ceiling. Pain quickly registered in his leg, but he ignored it.

He didn't know where he was. His eyes roamed around the room until he had to shift into a sitting position to get a better view which made him slightly wince. He was alone in this room, in some sort of cot. Beside him was a small table with some medicine on it and across the room was a larger table with more items cluttered on it. He felt slightly nauseas when he saw a scalpel. He hoped it hadn't been used on him, wherever he was.

A loud clang disrupted his thoughts. It came from behind the closed door, quite a ways away if he could tell. Some voices started bickering, making his unease grow. Where was he? He racked his mind quickly. There was the prison cell, that he remembered well. And then Karai was there. Then someone else. His eyes widened. Hamato Yoshi. The man had helped him and Karai. He was somewhere in the man's home, but he couldn't remember exactly where.

He closed his eyes, letting his other senses work. He could still hear bickering and something much quieter, a slight hiss maybe? Someone must be cooking he decided. He took a deep breath, catching a faint but pungent odor. Then he remembered where exactly he was. The sewers. He felt a very faint longing for his cell at that moment, but shook it off. But then now what was he supposed to do? Moving seemed like it would be too painful, but he was never one for sitting still for long for no reason.

Gingerly, he moved so his legs were dangling off the side of the bed, ignoring the chiding in his brain that he needed rest. Slowly he stood up and using the cot to assist him, starting walking towards the door. To his surprise, it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. At some point he must have gotten medical treatment, but he still wasn't feeling up to moving very fast. Suddenly he noticed a voice getting closer, sounding rather energetic and he tensed as the door opened.

His ocean blue eyes widened at who came through. The other person mirrored him and almost dropped the plate of food he was holding. "Leo!" Mikey exclaimed before setting the plate down on the cluttered table and practically ramming into the older teen as he wrapped his arms around him. "You're finally awake!"

Leo winced at the sudden contact. "Mikey. You're hurting me."

Mikey squeaked as he jumped away. "Sorry dude!" His smile returned tenfold and he started shaking. "I'm just so glad to see you awake!"

Leo was about to respond when Raph and Donnie walked into the room, no doubt alerted by the commotion.

"Well well well." Raph said with a smirk as he crossed his arms. "Look who's finally done getting his beauty sleep." He was met with a scolding glare.

Donnie on the other hand, frowned. "While it is good to see you awake, you shouldn't be out of bed yet. Your leg still has quite a bit of healing to do."

"Indeed." The four teens jumped when Splinter suddenly appeared. "It is good to see you feel strong enough to walk, but aggravating your injury when it has started to properly heal will do more harm than good."

Leo sighed and sat back on the cot. "I know, but I don't like sitting around doing nothing."

"Don't worry dude! I've got plenty of comics you can read." Mikey exclaimed with shining eyes. "Or we could get a TV set up in here and we can watch all my favorite shows. Or maybe we could-"

"Michelangelo." The blonde squeaked and turned to his father. Splinter gave him a fond smile. "While I'm sure Leonardo would appreciate these things to keep him entertained, for now I would like to talk to him alone."

Mikey pouted but turned back to Leo with a smile. "I'll go grab some stuff dude and we'll hang out later!" Leo gave him a wry smile and nodded, which seemed to appease the blonde who rushed out of the room, followed by his older brothers.

Splinter chuckled, gaining Leo's attention. The man shook his head. "You would think I would know how excited he can become by now, but he always seems to find a way to surprise me." He received a faint smile from the blue-eyed teen before silence reigned.

Leo looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say. This man, an enemy of his father, had practically saved his life. He had given him medical treatment and taken him into his home to be safe. What was he supposed to say to that? His thoughts were interrupted when the man spoke again. "It is good to see you awake. I thought you would have been unconscious for longer with the condition of your leg's infection."

"How long was I out exactly?"

Splinter tapped his chin several times. "I believe you were asleep for about two days." The teen looked at him in shock, but it quickly faded as he looked back down at the floor. Splinter noticed the plate of food still sitting on the cluttered table. He picked it up and walked over to the teen's side, placing the plate beside him. "I assume you are hungry?"

The teen looked at the plate, then up to the man. "Thank you." He said with a nod, before picking up a slice of buttered toast and taking a bite. Silence reigned between the two again as Leo ate. Splinter could still feel unease in the teen and felt his heart twist in sadness. He placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, feeling it tense beneath him.

"Leonardo." Blue eyes met his. "I understand you are uneasy with this sudden change. But you are safe here. Oroku Saki will not find you here and you will be able to heal in peace. I promise you this."

Leo had to look away, overwhelmed by this man's kindness. He could tell where Mikey got his friendliness, but yet it felt different with Hamato Yoshi. This man was everything he didn't think a person could be. At least from the people he knew. He looked back into the man's kind eyes and gave him a small smile. "Thank you. I can't begin to express my gratitude. You didn't have to do anything to help me and yet..."

Splinter shook his head. "Leonardo, I did. You were very injured and you are still quite young. Helping you was the right thing to do. You are also very dear to Michelangelo and I would help any friend of his or his brothers." He gave the teen's shoulder a small squeeze before releasing it and taking the now empty plate. "And now I will let you continue to rest. No doubt you will need it when Michelangelo returns later." He turned away and started leaving the room, but not before he saw the slightly exasperated look Leo had made at him. He smiled and left, knowing things were going to be just fine. At least for now.

* * *

"This is my favorite one! It's about this giant lizard monster destroying New York with his laser eyes and magma breath." When Leo had imagined Mikey's comics, he didn't really have anything in mind. He had never read a comic before but imagined them to be silly things. Currently, he was surrounded by various comics and an all too excited blonde waving his hands around as he described each one. Definitely nothing Leo was used to. But while it was almost too much energy for him, he couldn't help but be comforted by it all. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't feel like thinking too much about it.

Especially when a comic was being shoved in his face. "C'mon Leo." Mikey whined at him. "Stop ignoring me and read this one! I know you'll totally love it cause it's got this guy who-" Mikey continued to ramble on as Leo somewhat listened. He may not have known Mikey for very long, but he knew there was no stopping the blonde when he was talking about things like this.

* * *

A week had passed with Leo healing in the Hamato's temporary home. They each had kept him extremely occupied. Mikey always seemed to have new comics to bring and talk about without actually letting Leo read, not that he was complaining. Raph had come in and the two found a common interest in martial arts, which Leo knew that Hamato brothers all knew, but Raph seemed incredibly passionate about it. Or from what he could tell, the shorter teen enjoyed hitting things. He found out just how intelligent Donnie was, and was surprised at how much the brown-eyed teen knew. He felt slightly proud when he surprised the taller teen with some things he didn't know about other countries. Each of the brothers had asked him about the places he had lived, and he found spending time with them wasn't that bad.

Hamato Yoshi was different. The conversations with him were more thoughtful and difficult. The man seemed very concerned about him, from what the teen could tell. Leo told him some things about his past, but nothing that he felt was too personal. Like his scar. Yoshi had asked him about it, but Leo had quickly changed the subject. The scar running along his face had always made him feel self-conscious, not that he would let anyone know. It was a permanent reminder for him of who he was. Who he was related to. Yoshi seemed to realize he didn't want to talk about it and let him be. The teen could tell though, that Yoshi wanted to ask him something. Something most likely about his father, and Leo didn't know if he was ready for it.

The time spent in the Hamato's company was completely different than anything Leo had ever known before. He was used to the cold, but he felt warm around them. Happy almost. It was comforting, but it also frightened him. He couldn't stay down here with them forever. There was no way that was possible. His father would no doubt be trying to find him. Not only was he Saki's son, but he was an escaped prisoner of the feared Shredder, and no one had ever escaped his wrath. Well, there was one person. The man who had saved him. The enemy of the Oroku. Leo felt deeply connected to Hamato Yoshi despite not knowing him for long, but he knew all good things come to an end from experience and he couldn't let the Hamatos get hurt trying to protect him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, but he couldn't let anyone get hurt for him.

* * *

"Leonardo. I must speak to you about something very important." As soon as Hamato Yoshi said that, Leo could feel his blood turn to ice. He knew the Hamato father would want to talk about Oroku Saki. Something Leo still wasn't ready for. The man seemed to have sensed the teen's unease because he smiled at him. "I understand you will not wish to talk about Saki, but I believe it is time to."

Leo sighed. "I know. It's not something I can put off forever but it would be nice if I didn't have to worry about him."

Yoshi laid a hand on the teen's shoulder. " I understand. Which is why I have thought of something to deal with him."

"What?" The teen looked at the man with evident confusion. "How can you- I mean I don't understand how- what-"

"Leonardo." Leo quickly shut his mouth. "My sons and I have been wondering how we can deal with Oroku Saki. We cannot stay down here in the sewers forever, and you should not have to worry about him anymore than you have already."

The teen looked away, overwhelmed by the worry these people showed for him. He was the son of their enemy, and yet they cared so deeply for him. Yoshi gave him some time to recollect himself before the teen turned back to him, a determined glint in his eyes. "What exactly did you guys come up with?"


	21. Finally Free

Eyes from everyone in the room were trained on him. He could feel terror clinging onto him, though he desperately tried to hide it. The scathing golden glare was practically scorching the side of his head as the words fell out of his mouth. His hands, thankfully hidden, were trembling uncontrollably despite all his years of training of hiding his fear. He was surprised he hadn't stumbled on his words, but he could chalk that up to the silent strength that was resonating from nearby, though he could barely see them. He vaguely registered that he had stopped talking when another voice started up, surprising him out of his terror only for anger and pain to set in instead.

His blue eyes shot towards the well-dressed man across from him, and the much larger man beside him. His eyes met his father's. The lawyer kept talking, but once again speech was blotted out in his mind. He hadn't expected nor wanted to see Oroku Saki in such a short amount of time, but yet here he was. Waiting, hoping, that soon he would be free from the hidden fears threatening to surface.

* * *

Leaving the small infirmary the Hamatos had set up brought more relief to Leonardo than he thought it would. He didn't mind that the room he was now in was used as a storage space. Anything to get out of the sick smelling room and away from where he could barely walk several days ago, where the pain had been almost overbearing.

Currently he was alone, almost rare in the time he had been down in the sewers. Usually Mikey was nearby, always ready to strike up a conversation or help him, even though the older teen always tried to deny needing it. Hamato Yoshi was often in his company as well, tending to be more of a quiet companion. He didn't see Raph or Donnie as much as he did their younger brother, but typically there was always one person to keep him company. Being by himself though was something he was used to. It was comforting for him and despite liking interacting with the Hamatos, Leonardo was glad to be alone for a little awhile. It helped him think better. Something he really needed when the Hamatos brought up what they wanted to do, what they wanted _him_ to do.

Getting rid of Oroku Saki wasn't exactly easy. With his power and money, not to mention his terrifying presence, the man was nearly unstoppable. The only way to, according to the Hamatos, was to show proof of his sadistic ways. Cue Leonardo.

The dark-haired teen had been completely shocked at what the Hamatos wanted him to do. Yeah it made sense, but it also seemed risky. He knew his father better than the Hamatos did, and regardless of how well they thought it would work, Leonardo had his doubts. Sitting the powerful man down in a courtroom and accusing him of abuse? Fat chance of that working out planned. Oroku Saki, not only a world-known businessman but also an incredibly powerful ninja, was nothing if not deceptive.

But Hamato Yoshi was adamant that proof of Saki's evil deeds would stop the man. And that's where Leonardo came in. He was the proof, the evidence to stop his own father. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to be thought of, but if it got rid of his father than he would do it. Though despite the pain he had gone through because of the man, there was a small part of the teen that still cared for him. The man was still his blood, and Leonardo had worked his entire life for his father to be proud of him, to regard him as his son. He tried to blot out those thoughts.

A sudden shout and stomping brought Leo out of his thoughts. He couldn't help the small, fond smile as he rolled his eyes at the commotion.

"Mikey! Get back here so I can pummel you!" That was no doubt Raph again. And the high-pitched scream that followed being Mikey. If Leo had learned anything about the brothers while staying with them, then it was that Mikey absolutely loved to tease his brothers, primarily Raph, who would immediately retaliate. It had definitely startled the older teen the first time he had heard all the commotion, but thankfully Donnie had been in the room and quickly explained all the noise was a common occurrence before Leo could hurt himself by going to see what has happening.

Being with the brothers was definitely different than what Leo was used to. Almost constant noise versus the silence he was used to, warmth from their company instead of the chill from being alone. It was something he had gotten mostly accustomed to in his short stay with them, and yet he couldn't help but know he was going to dearly miss it when he left. Because though he enjoyed being with them, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay with them. Leo wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do or where he was going to go if Oroku Saki was truly stopped, but he couldn't ask any more of them. They'd given him much more than he thought he probably deserved, and he wasn't planning on being more of an inconvenience than he already was.

"Boys! Settle down." The voice of Hamato Yoshi reprimanded from beyond the door. Raph and Mikey of course tried to deny having any involvement or blame from what Leo could hear, though with all the shouting either of them did, he still couldn't fathom why they'd try to fight against doing anything wrong when the proof was right there. Which brought the dark-haired teen back to his previous thoughts. His injuries still hurt, though he could move around now without putting too much strain on them. Unfortunately his leg injury forced him to limp, the shame of it burning in his veins when someone gave him a pitied glance. They never did it when they thought he couldn't see it, but Leo could just feel it pulsating off them when he moved around. Yet another reason he wanted to be alone, where no one could see his discomfort.

A sudden knock on the door startled him. He cursed himself for not being on guard and paying attention. "Yeah?" Leo said lamely.

The door slightly shifted in, and Donnie leaned in. "Master Splinter got all the preparations done for the trial. We're supposed to be there next Tuesday." He gave Leo a small smile while watching for a response.

After a moment Leo nodded to him, returning the smile. "Thank you for telling me. I...I'd like to meditate a bit." Leo cursed himself again for his stumble, but Donnie didn't seem to notice it. The younger teen nodded and carefully closed the door, leaving Leo back to his thoughts. A sigh escaped him, and he buried his head in his hands. He could feel the fear of facing his father begin to creep back into his mind before he shoved it aside. No, he wouldn't let the fear control him. He would stop Oroku Saki, or at least try to. Completely stopping him was impossible, but getting his father out of his life could possibly done.

_"We're supposed to be there..."_

We. Leo wouldn't be alone, not against his father. The thought temporarily banished his fears as he pictured the Hamato family. They never had to do anything for him, let alone free him from his father's dangerous grip. Yet they were more than willing to. Leo smiled at that. Maybe it was really possible to stop Oroku Saki.

* * *

He was overjoyed to be able to sit down again. His leg was starting to go numb the longer he stood, thought he wondered if that was partially due to the murderous look he was receiving from his father. Mikey was up talking now, waving his hands around as if he was unable to simply stand. Not that Leonardo particularly minded then, since most eyes in the room were trained on the jubilant teen instead of himself. But he could always feel the glances when the eyes shifted over to him. No doubt trying to see his scars again. That had been the worst part.

Leo was, after all, the evidence. Showing the injuries to a group of strangers had left his stomach churning in distaste and shame. The gasps they let out were enough to nearly make him flinch back, but he wouldn't show weakness. Not in front of his father. He didn't fail to notice the slightly widened gaze of his father's attorney, and it seemed as if the middle-aged woman serving as judge noticed this as well. Leo only hoped it would be enough.

* * *

Fixing the borrowed black shirt, he stared at his reflection. The scar of course always seemed to instantly catch his attention when he looked into a mirror. Leonardo quickly looked into his reflection's eyes. The dark blue eyes staring back at him reminded him of a storm, clouds billowing together in a hurry to start a downpour. He pondered that it seemed too fitting for his current situation. This was the calm before the storm after all. In only a few hours he would be face to face with his father once again. A shiver ran down his spine as he continued to look in the mirror. Once he had found a picture of his father when he was younger, something that still somewhat surprised him to this day. Oroku Saki as a younger man, looked too much like the teenager he saw staring back at him in the mirror. It sickened him.

A knock and quiet whisper of his name brought him out of his trance. Leo turned towards the bathroom door and opened it to reveal Mikey. The younger teen's eyes were filled with worry. "You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Leo quickly responded. He didn't want to worry the blonde any more than he already had.

Mikey nodded, though he didn't look convinced. "You were in the bathroom for quite awhile."

Leo winced at that. "Just...thinking I guess." An awkward silence filled the space between them. Leo felt very out of place in that moment, still not quite used to the worry over his well-being. He opened his mouth to say something but was quickly stopped when arms encircled him. He tensed up and glanced down at the younger teen.

"We'll be with you y'know?" Mikey whispered. A quiet sniff followed before his arms tightened their hold. He could feel Leo's stiff form relax slightly, though the older teen didn't return the hug. "It's going to be a little scary, but we'll be right there."

Leo could feel tears prick his eyes. _We._ He wasn't going to be alone against his father. Against anything. Not when he had his friend beside him. He noticed Donnie and Raph appear from around the corner, both with surprised looks at the scene. But there was no jesting, no scorn. The two shared a look before joining in, their arms wrapping around Leo as well. Something welled up inside of him, and he felt himself truly relax into their arms. Where he was safe, where he wasn't alone. He shifted his own arms and wrapped them around the three brothers. He didn't know how long the four stayed there. But when the arms unwrapped themselves from him, he couldn't help but miss the warmth they shared.

Donnie's hand gave his shoulder a small squeeze. "We'll be right there Leo."

Raph rolled his eyes, but gave him a friendly smirk. "Just don't expect another giant hug-fest y'hear?"

The four of them laughed. Leo hadn't ever felt so happy and relieved in that moment.

A minute later he was back to looking at himself in the mirror. But he felt completely different.

He was Oroku Leonardo. A strong and skilled warrior. Able to withstand almost anything life threw at him. But he also wasn't alone. He had a new family prepared to help him every step of the way. A family that cared.

* * *

He was free. His father's blazing eyes glared at him, and yet it didn't faze him. The judge gave him a small, but caring smile and he returned it. The rest of the people in the room went over to him, to shake his hand or give him a hug. It was strange but not unwelcoming. And when he looked over to the Hamato family, he couldn't help but smile, a genuine one he hadn't given in a long time.

They had actually done it. Oroku Saki was forced to give up Leonardo for abuse, but it felt like the best thing in the world. The man wasn't jailed however, having too much power and influence for that, but it was enough.

When the dark-haired teen walked over to the family he opened his mouth to thank them, but was quickly rushed and wrapped up by them. Not that he minded of course, as he encircled his own arms around them. Mikey's baby blue eyes sparkled. "This is so great!" He snuggled up closer to Leo. "I've always wanted another brother."

Raph gently hit the younger teen upside the head while Donnie rolled his eyes in exasperation. Splinter chuckled at their antics before meeting the surprised eyes of Leo. "I hope you're ready to be a Hamato."

Leo couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes as he laughed. The joy that spread through him could not be matched as he stood with his new family. He didn't know what would be in store for the future, but whatever it was, no doubt he wouldn't be alone.


	22. Epilogue

_7 Months Later_

A loud smack reverberated around the room. Donnie and Mikey winced at the sound of their older brother hitting the dojo mat. That would leave a mark. Raph groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. He shot a scowl at the older teen standing above him, but it didn't faze Leo. "Nice try Raphael." He said smugly. "But you'll have to try harder than that."

"Well done Leonardo." Splinter's humored voice interrupted the two. "But do not become too arrogant. It will only cloud your mind."

"Hai Sensei." Leo said, bowing respectfully. He turned to the still downed Raph and held out a hand, which the younger reluctantly took.

Raph grumbled at the slightly taller teen as he was hauled up to his feet. "Smug bastard." He grumbled under his breath.

"Language Raphael." Splinter chided. "I do not want to cause further harm to you than what Leonardo has already done."

Mikey and Donnie laughed, causing the green-eyed teen's face to heat up. Leo smiled and rolled his eyes fondly. It was hard to remember a time when he hadn't had three troublesome younger brothers.

"Now would either of you two like to spar against Leonardo?" Splinter asked Donnie and Mikey, turning towards them.

Both quickly shook their heads. "No, I think I'm good Sensei." Donnie said quickly.

"Yep. I'm feeling all sparred out." Mikey agreed.

Splinter chuckled. "Then I believe we are done for the day."

"Hai Sensei." The four teenagers chorused, bowing and leaving the dojo.

As soon as they were out, Mikey rushed towards the living room. "I call TV!"

Raph growled, charging after his brother. "No way! You got it yesterday after training. I am not going to sit through another one of your stupid shows."

"Hey!" Donnie exclaimed, following after them. "I've got this documentary on the research of heterotrophic organisms that I've been waiting to watch."

"Nobody wants to watch whatever that is over the best cartoon ever!" Mikey shouted. Leo could hear the three quickly begin bickering from the other room as he stood outside the dojo. He rolled his eyes fondly at their antics.

"You do not want to participate I take it?" Splinter said, walking up to him.

Leo turned to the man. "Nah. I've never been a big fan of TV. The only thing I've cared to watch is the news."

Splinter nodded, but noticed unease in the teen. "What troubles you?"

The black-haired teen tensed. It didn't take much to alert the older ninja. "It's nothing."

"It is not if it troubles you. Do not be afraid to speak your mind."

Leo bit his lip. "It's just...My father. The whole Oroku corporation has been out of New York for months and there's hardly been any word of it. It's like he's gone, but I know he isn't. I'm just afraid he'll come back..."

Splinter laid a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I understand your fears Leonardo. But do not forget that you will always have us there."

Leo smiled gratefully. "Thanks. That means a lot."

A sudden screech and loud bang startled the two. Splinter sighed. "I believe we better sort out this problem."

Leo laughed. "Yeah I guess so."

The two walked to the living room and were met with chaos. Leo rolled his eyes at his brothers while Splinter shook his head. "Boys..." He mumbled exasperatedly, moving to stop their fighting.

Leo watched, amused. A slight tendril of worry still clutched his heart over the thought of his father, but standing in the company of his new family overshadowed it with warmth. Yes, no matter what would happen next, he would always be able to count on them. And they could count on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story took about 3 years for me to write. Most of the time was due to writer's block and lack of motivation/interest after awhile. However, writing this was beneficial. I do believe I have become a better writer and the process overall is easier because I started doing a lot more outlining (something I didn't do with this story).   
> Regardless, anyone out there has the potential to be a good writer. I encourage everyone to try their hand with their own stories, as any amount of practice will make you better.


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